Erowid Extracts
A P s y c h o a c t i v e P l a n t s
June 2004
Erowid.org is a member-supported
organization working to provide free,
reliable and accurate information
about psychoactive plants and
chemicals.
The information on the site is
a compilation of the experiences,
words, and efforts of hundreds of
individuals including parents, health
professionals, doctors, therapists,
chemists, researchers, teachers,
lawyers and those who choose to
use psychoactives. Erowid acts as
a publisher of new information as
well as a library for the collection
of documents published elsewhere,
spanning the spectrum from solid
peer-reviewed research to creative
writing and fiction.
IN THIS ISSUE . . .
Editorial: Constant Commerce.... 2
Letters & Feedback..................... 3
U.S. Drug Control Timeline.......... 4
Stuck in a Time Bubble................ 6
Drug Geeks.................................. 8
Ask Erowid.................................. 11
A Survey of S. divinorum Users... 12
Eternal Control Malfunction........... 16
Legal Updates............................. 18
Hey, Its A Library!........................ 20
Escottology.................................. 22
Distillation.................................... 23
a n d C h e m i c a l s N e w s l e t t e r
Number 6
W
e at Erowid are generally media referrers for the first week after they were
shy and tend to want to focus the published (spots usually occupied by the
projects limited resources on search engines).
data and technology rather than on promotion
Despite our reticence, it is clear that
or media attention. But last year we were
getting positive media attention helps bring
convinced by a couple of friends that if we
in new support and introduces the site to
continued to rebuff even friendly media
people who arent familiar with it. Its easy,
inquiries, we were passively tipping the
buried in Erowid Central, to imagine that
scales towards those journalists who would
everyone whos interested in psychoactive
write about the project without actually
plants and chemicals already knows about
talking to us. It seemed likely that these
all the major online resources and at least
people would be less sympathetic in their
has stopped by Erowid in a search. But that
writing than those who were kind enough to
is clearly not the case.
take no for an answer.
As the project edges over 30,000 unique
In early April, Seattles weekly alternative
visitors per day and we consider the impact
paper The Stranger published a full-page
our site may have on those newly exposed
editorial about Erowid. The article was
to it through these media articles, we are
written by Erowid supporters who bid on and
reminded of Murrows words (below) and
won the column inches in a charity auction.
their hint about responsibility.
Erowid.org: Drug Information Wants to be
Free described Erowid and actively asked
readers to support the project with donations. Just because your voice reaches
Whether you feel drugs are a fools errand halfway around the world doesnt
or whether youre an ardent proponent of mean you are wiser than when it
psychedelics or other substances, you may still reached only to the end of the bar.
realize the value and critical importance of such
Edward R. Murrow
a vital repository of data that is independent of
mass media and government control.
Its tempting to spend much of our time
Then, in late April, there was a positive
re-re-reconsidering the ramifications of the
four-page feature article by Erik Davis
individual choices we make, but our overall
published in the LA Weekly, titled Dont
vision remains clear. As David, a new
Get High Without ItThe Vaults of
member who joined after reading the LA
Erowid supplies the ultimate trip buddy:
Weekly article, wrote when describing his
information. The article included a little
younger days of exploration:
biographical information about us and
offered a relatively sophisticated overview of Back in those days I sometimes found
the complexities faced by the Erowid project. myself in places that were hard or confusing
Davis wrote, Prohibition will never be the or scary and over time came up with four
same. Erowid has already forced government directives that were simple enough for me
sources like NIDA and ONDCP to become to remember even under duress:
more sophisticated as they face a widening
Keep Breathing. Tell the Truth. Be
credibility gap with young people.
Fearless. Choose Love.
These two pieces precipitated a lot of
;]
positive emails and feedback. Their online
versions also became the highest direct Earth & Fire
Constant Commerce
Whos in Control of the Ads? by Fire Erowid

O
ne part of our work at Erowid is to try to stay up-to-date psychoactive products. The first of these was for a research chemical
on media about psychoactive chemicals. So when, on vendor advertising a selection of research chemicals (2C-I, 5-MeO-
February 13th, 2004, we heard that the Chicago Tribune DMT, 2C-E) as well as pure DXM powder. The second was for a
had published a new article about the abuse of cold site selling Dextromethorphan Bulk.
medicine, we went to their website to read what they had to say.
This brings up interesting questions about who is in control of
The article, titled Abuse of cold medicine on rise: Some stores try advertising in the digital age. Erowid is often accused by detractors
to thwart teens, focused on the increase in the use of DXMcontaining of promoting the use of psychoactives, but we have a strict policy
tabletsas opposed to syrupsamong young people. The article was against accepting advertisements and choose not to link to sites we
reasonable, addressing the relative difficulty of drinking a bottle of know sell psychoactive research chemicals. Yet the Chicago Tribune,
cough syrup compared to the ease of consuming tablets. The concern a major urban newspaper, has systems in place which feed ads for
they expressed was that increased availability of DXM-containing psychoactive chemical vendors to their readers, even going so far as
tablets is causing an increase in use. to place ads for bulk DXM around a story decrying its use. It seems
unlikely that the Chicago Tribune would have chosen these ads to
Emergency room physicians are reporting a sharp increase
be displayed. Yet they are willing to give up control to an automated
in teens abusing non-prescription cough and cold medicines,
system that produces unexpected and often undesirable results. The
which are back in vogue as recreational drugs because the
system ignores the nuances of article content, working off of keyword
products are accessible and easier to take than ever before.
matches. Those three ads may have sensibly matched the search
[...] The latest concerns have caused some drugstore chains term DXM, but they appear ludicrous when combined with the
to limit purchases. But the efforts dont go far enough, say article in question.
many critics, who are urging that all such products be sold
One part of Erowids mission is to separate the distribution of
strictly from behind the counter.
information from sales, with the hope this can help reduce the conflicts
Its not illegal to purchase. Its not even illegal to take in of interest that complicate neutral consideration. The problem of
large quantities. Its just dangerous and foolish and that is unwanted advertisements is a growing issue. We recently had to
what is scaring everybody, said Dr. Charles Nozicka, director remove the Google phrase search from our search page due to similar
of pediatric emergency issues. Search results were
medicine at St. Alexius being displayed on Erowid
Medical Center in Hoffman pages with Erowid headers
Estates. and footers, next to vendor-
sponsored ads fed by Google.
The article continued, telling the
All too often, these ads were for
story of a 17-year-old who had
research chemical vendors.
problems controlling his use of
Coricidin tablets and eventually Its interesting that, despite
ended up in a substance abuse the War on Drugs, a search
treatment center. done on a term related to psy-
choactive materialsusing the
But what was particularly
major search engines Google
disturbing? amusing?
and Yahooresults in a good
concerning?was that when
portion of the browser window
we first visited the Chicago
filled with ads for psychoac-
Tribune website to try to find
tive vendors.
the article, we entered DXM
into their search field and hit The Chicago Tribune has
GO. At the top of the results since taken down its article
page appeared three paid ad- about the abuse of DXM
vertisements (see screenshot). tablets, but as of early May
One of the ads was for a website 2004, a search on the term
discouraging the use of DXM DXM on their website still
as a psychoactive. The other provided the same advertise-
two were for vendors selling ment results.
2 Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004
Letters & Feedback
I need to thank Erowid for all the HARD
WORK put into this site. My friend sold
me 5-MeO-AMT as regular AMT and I
thought that was what it was cause he
seemed to know what he was talking
about. So I bought three thinking they
were 8-10 mg apiece and I would take
all three. But I got on Erowid and read
up on things and saw they could be
easily confused. So I took only one
and had a nice hard trip. Three could
have been bad.
JEREMY
Email to Erowid
This site is lacking like so many other drug
sites. It has no overdose information;
If I accidentally inhale some heroin or
cocaine how am I supposed to know
how much can kill me; if I find a gram
of LSD how am I supposed to know if
its safe to touch, this site should have
exact overdose information in grams; I
mean cmon how common sense is this
yet I cant seem to find the overdose
examples for any major substance. You
call this education? More like a guide to
accidental suicide!!!!
JON W.
Submitted to Erowid guestbook
The way I found this web site is by
seeing that my step-daughter had been
to it by the history on my web browser.
If these are the kind of people you are
attracting as members then you are
definitely doomed. She is a bona-fide
idiot and has absolutely no means of
income so your money will soon be
gone too.
I believe your cause and goals are
futile and anyone associated with you
is a loser. The end is near for your
movement. I laugh at your stupid
ideology.
GARY
Submitted to Erowid guestbook
I just want to say, Erowid.org is possibly
the best site ever. Ive been arguing with
my mom for days about her Dexedrine
use, and she remained unconvinced.
Then she asked me where I got so smart
about speed, I suppose implying that
she thought Id done it before, and I told
her about Erowid. She had a look at it,
and now shes going to look more into
getting off the Dexies for good.
STONERKIM
Posted to boards.marihemp.com
Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004
Erowid Extracts
My name is Mike and I am a third-year Number 6, June 2004
medical student. I am writing this
E-mail to thank you for this website
because it was very helpful to us last
Head Archivist Fire Erowid
night in the psychiatric emergency
service. Technical Director Earth Erowid
On 5 Feb, 2004 a 19-year-old single Associate Editor Sylvia Thyssen
African-American male presented to
Crew mindlace
the psychiatric emergency service
Stu
with complaints of paranoid ideation
Embroglio
(a feeling of impending doom and Psilo
suspicion that his friends and family Lad
were going to hurt him, even though LaMalice
he conceded that these suspicions were
Art Curator Christopher Barnaby
unreasonable).
Report Reviewers Scruff
The patients history was significant
Tacovan
for one night of experimentation with
Florian
2C-I six weeks prior to his visit. The Raoul
patient described the experience as
Copy Edits Zak Braverman
very unpleasant with visual illusions
Urge
(swirling colors and patterns), and an
overwhelming feeling of impending
Layout & Design Fire Erowid
doom. After he had recovered from the
intoxication, he was well until one week
later when he began to experience brief Erowid Extracts is the members newsletter
episodes of the same paranoia he had of Erowid.org. It is published about twice a
experienced while on 2C-I. Over the year. If you are interested in receiving this
next 5 weeks, these episodes increased newsletter, visit our membership page:
in both duration and frequency until the
http://www.erowid.org/donations/
patient was continuously affected by
these feelings. If you would like to cancel your subscrip-
When he presented, I had just come tion to Erowid Extracts, please let us know.
on shift and the staff was asking Has Past issues can be read online.
anyone heard of 2C-I? Because I am
http://www.erowid.org/extracts/
interested in substance use and abuse
issues in adolescents and young adults,
I said that I had heard of it and that Erowid
I knew that it was a phenethylamine P.O. Box 1116
hallucinogen. Unfortunately, a search Grass Valley, CA 95945
of the medical literature gave me no http://www.erowid.org/
info@erowid.org
relevant results.
Fortunately, I knew about Erowid and 2004 Erowid.org
looked on your site. To my delight, you All rights reserved
have information on this very rare drug,
including its chemical structure and Reprints: Those interested in reprinting
even a link to the EUs scientific review articles from this newsletter should contact
on this substance. This information Erowid by email.
helped us treat this patients symptoms,
which we diagnosed as a hallucinogen- Advertising: Erowid Extracts does not
induced psychotic disorder. accept advertisements, but if you would
like to include a flier about a related orga-
The patient is being treated with nization or event in our mailings, contact
a brief (1-2 week) course of low-dose
extracts@erowid.org.
antipsychotics and we expect that his
symptoms will resolve completely. I
just wanted to let you know that your
website was useful to us and I wanted Know Your Body
to thank you and encourage you to
persevere in this project. You have Know Your Mind
helped one of our patients and I am
grateful to your website for that. Know Your Substance
JACK Know Your Source
Email to Erowid
3
 U.S. Drug Control
TIMELINE
by Fire Erowid

The legal control of psychoactives in
the United States began soon after the
country was formed. Within a few years
of the ratification of the Constitution, the
first drug control measure was approved
by Congress in the form of a tax on the
production of whiskey.
Over the next 200 years, the federal
government continued to increase these
controls, growing increasingly bold in the
interpretation of its powers. Restrictions
were put in place out of a combination of
legitimate health concerns, puritan ethics,
corporate goals, and xenophobic attitudes.
A look at the order of major drug control
measures that were passed gives a sense
of how a culture can go from no such
laws to the outlawing of any unapproved
intoxicant. Agencies were created, merged,
and destroyed in succession as the federal
government worked to effectively impose
control on the use of psychoactives. The
process moved from taxes, to limitations and
restrictions, to full control and prohibition.
And in that same period of time, use has
continued to increase.
Perhaps something can be learned by
reviewing the steps (forward and back) that
drug control has taken throughout the history
of the United States.

1791 Whiskey Excise Tax products containing alcohol, morphine, opium, cocaine, heroin,
Imposed a federal tax on the production of whiskey and required all and cannabis among a few others. This led to the decline of patent
stills to be registered. Led to the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794.1 medication sales.

1848 Drug Importation Act 1906 Bureau of Chemistry

Required all medications (as defined by the newly established Organized under the U.S. Department of Agriculture and
pharmacopeia) entering U.S. ports to be inspected and analyzed responsible for enforcing the requirements of the Pure Food and
for quality, purity, and fitness for medical purposes.2 Drug Act. Later became the Food and Drug Administration.

1862 Office of Internal Revenue 1909 Smoking Opium Exclusion Act

Created by an act of Congress to collect federal taxes. Responsible
for enforcing taxes on distilled spirits. Organized under the Dept
of Treasury and renamed the Internal Revenue Service in 1953.
1868 Pharmacy Act of 1868
Required testing and registration by those who dispensed drugs
including morphine, cocaine, and barbiturates. Did not regulate
patent medicines (proprietary mixtures sold to consumers).
1875 Opium Dens Targeted
San Francisco passed the first U.S. ordinance against smoking
opium in opium dens. Other cities and states followed in the next
few years.3
18821901 Temperance Education Laws
Pushed by the Womens Christian Temperance Union (WCTU),
during this period every U.S. state enacted laws requiring that
students be taught the harmful effects of alcohol and narcotics.4
Banned the importation, possession and use of smoking opium.
Did not regulate opium-based medications. Prompted by U.S.
participation in the international Shanghai Opium Commission the
same year.6 This is the first federal law banning the non-medical
use of a substance.
1914 Harrison Narcotics Act
Required those who dispensed opium or coca leaves, their salts,
derivatives, or preparations to register, pay a small tax, and
keep records of the drugs they dispensed. Allowed physicians to
prescribe these narcotics, but only in the course of treatment
and not to addicts. Made it illegal to possess narcotics without
a presciption. This is the first federal law requiring a license or
prescription for legal possession.
19141927 Bureau of Internal Revenue
Responsible during this time for registration and collection of taxes
under the Harrison Narcotics Act.

1897 Tea Importation Act
Established a board of tea experts to create standards of tea quality.
Allowed customs inspections of all tea entering U.S. ports with the
power to refuse entry to sub-standard tea. First law regulating food
products.5 This act was not repealed until 1996.
1920 The 18th Amendment & the Volstead Act
The passage of the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act
effectively outlawed the production, sale, and transportation of
alcoholic beverages in the U.S. Allowed for the use of legally
acquired alcohol only in private homes.

1906 Pure Food and Drug Act 1922 Narcotic Drug Import and Export Act
Prohibited the manufacture and sale of adulterated or misbranded Also called the Jones-Miller Act. Increased penalties and further
foods, drugs, and medications. Specifically required labelling of restricted the import and export of opium and coca.

4 Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004

19221930 Federal Narcotics Control Board
Established by the Narcotic Drugs Import and Export Act to make
regulations regarding the import and export of opium and coca.
1924 Heroin Act
Made the manufacture and possession of heroin illegal.6
19271930 Bureau of Prohibition
Created by an act of the same name. Replaced the Bureau of
Internal Revenue with a new bureau under the Dept. of Treasury.
This is the first organization responsible solely for the enforcement
of drug and alcohol laws.
19301968 Federal Bureau of Narcotics
Replaced the Bureau of Prohibition and moved the enforcement of
drug laws from the Dept. of Treasury to the Dept. of Justice. Its
first commissioner, the infamous Harry Anslinger, began actions
to control cannabis in addition to opium and coca.
1932 Uniform State Narcotic Act
Encouraged states to pass uniform state laws matching the federal
Narcotic Drug Import and Export Act. Suggested prohibiting
cannabis use at the state level. By 1937 every state had passed
laws prohibiting cannabis use.
1933 21st Amendment Repeals Prohibition
Removed the federal ban on production and sales of alcohol and
gave control of alcohol laws to the states.
1937 Marihuana Tax Act
Made it federally illegal to buy, sell, barter, or give away cannabis
without paying a transfer tax. This is the first federal law regulating
the possession and sale of cannabis. Declared unconstitutional in
1969 in U.S. vs Timothy Leary.
1938 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
Revised and expanded the Pure Food and Drug Act to require more
extensive labelling and safety testing of food products. Introduced
safety standards and required that new drugs be shown to be safe
before marketing.
1951 Boggs Act
Imposed mandatory minimum sentences for those convicted of
violating the Narcotic Drug Import and Export Act or the Marihuana
Tax Act. These minimums were mostly repealed in 1970.
1956 Narcotics Control Act
Also known as the Daniels Act. Further increased penalties and
mandatory minimums for violations of existing drug laws.
1965 Drug Abuse Control Amendment
Regulated, for the first time, the sale and possession of stimulants,
depressants, and hallucinogens. Restricted research into
psychoactives such as LSD by requiring FDA approval.
19651968 Bureau of Drug Abuse Control
Formed under the Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare.
Responsible for enforcing the Drug Abuse Control Amendment.
Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004
19681973 Bureau of Narcotics & Dangerous Drugs
Created by executive order, under the Dept. of Justice, by merging the
Federal Bureau of Narcotics and the Bureau of Drug Abuse Control.
1970 Controlled Substance Act
Replaced the Drug Abuse Control Amendment. Organized
federally regulated drugs (including opiates, coca, cannabis,
stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens) into five schedules
with varying restrictions and penalties.
1973 Drug Enforcement Administration
Created by executive order under the Dept. of Justice. Combined
the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs and several other
law enforcement organizations.
1984 Uniform Drinking Age Act
Withheld sizeable federal transportation funds from states that
refused to raise their drinking age to 21.
1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986
Increased sentences and re-imposed mandatory minimums. Judges
are required to impose minimum sentences based on the type and
quantity of drug involved.
1986 Federal Analogue Act
Created a new legal definition of "analog" and placed analogs of a
controlled substance into the same schedule as that substance.
1988 Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988
Replaced the term recreational use with abuse in the federal
vocabulary. Strengthened ability to confiscate property in drug-
related crimes. Re-instated the death penalty for traffickers.
1988 Office of National Drug Control Policy
Created by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. The head of the
ONDCP is the drug czar, a cabinet level position.
1994 Dietary Supplements Act
Broadened the definition of dietary supplements (as distinguished
from foods and drugs) and significantly lessened FDA control
over them.7
References
1. Barr A. Drink: A Social History of America. Carroll & Graf, 1999. p 321.
2. Higby GJ. Drug Quality and the Origins of APhA. Journal of the
American Pharmaceutical Association. 2002; 42(6):831-835.
3. Brecher EM. Licit and Illicit Drugs: The Consumers Union Report. Little,
Brown and Co., 1972. p 42.
4. Beck J. 100 Years Of Just Say No Versus Just Say Know.
Evaluation Review. 1988; 22(1):15-45.
5. Merrill TW, Tongue KA. Agency Rules with the Force of Law. 2002.
http://www.utexas.edu/law/news/colloquium/spring2002sched.htm.
6. Courtwright DT. Dark Paradise. Harvard Univ. Press, 2001. p 104-5.
7. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Dietary Supplements Overview.
Accessed Apr 5, 2004. http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/supplmnt.html
5
An Experience with 5-MeO-DMT
Dosage: A single lungful (actual quantity
in spoon unknown)
Setting: A 3-day, 2-night party. Those
of us indulging in this particular substance
were in a small bedroom, adjacent to the main
living room where most of the (mellow) party
was going on.
Other Factors: I had dosed on 15 mg 2CB
and 3 capsules full of powdered mushrooms
the previous night. I was certainly baseline
before taking the 5-MeO-DMT, but it is
possible that my experience was affected by
residual effects on my neurons, kidneys, etc.
I normally take a balanced multi-vitamin each
day, and I am fairly certain I remembered to
have one that evening with a meal a couple
of hours before dosing. My mental state was
mainly one of frustration and impatience,
feeling that my psychedelic experience of the
night before was largely a futile re-hashing
of the same unanswerable questions and
unresolved problems Ive been dealing with
throughout my life. I hoped that 5-MeO-
DMT would be the thing to push me through
to a clearer level.
Note: At the last minute, I informed my
significant other, J, (who at the time was in
the living room adjacent to where I would be
smoking the 5-MeO-DMT) that I would be
indulging in this new substance that night.
The Lead-in:
After some debate and confusion over
whether snorting or smoking would be the
better method for some or all of us, we finally
all settled on smoking. E was handed a small
tube, shorter but a little wider than a large
drinking straw. P (our ground control, spoon
holder, and caretaker) held a large spoon
containing a dollop of 5-MeO-DMT with
two lighters beneath it, instructing E to begin
inhaling slowly through the tube as soon as
the smoke got thick. E got a lungful, said
something like, Here I go, and fell back on
the pillow. I was not certain whether P then
added more substance to the spoon before
giving M a turn, but I suspect so. M inhaled,
waved, and said goodbye while falling back
6 Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004
by Warp
onto the other pillow with an enormous grin. for the occasional, inexplicable dj vu and
I believe that P added more substance to the an unshakable sense of foreboding. I cackle
spoon before handing the inhaling tube to me. with lunatic irony. Condemning oneself to
I found the smoke surprisingly light and easy eternal damnation is hilarious, when you
to take in. By the time I tasted it in the back think about it.
of my throat, it had me. All I could manage
The whole scenario inverts and repeats,
to say was something like, guh, thrusting the
eternally. There is a buzzing sound, like
tube wildly in Ps direction, as I fell back on
a handsaw. Hzzzzzz. Eeeeeee. Hzzzzzz.
the blanket bunched against the wall, turning
Eeeeeee. J is beside me. Youre hyper-
inside out through my chest.
ventilating, he says. And so I am. The
(Disclaimer: The following events may buzzing noise is me. I sit up. Hands
be partially or completely misremembered in the air, shuddering, I try to slow my
and/or inaccurately portrayed. Statements in breathing.
quotations may or may not have been actually
uttered by the person they are attributed to,
or thought by me at the time.)
The whole scenario inverts and
The Experience: repeats, eternally.
Purgatory. Neither here nor there. A
fuzzy white bubble of crumpled time. One
fractured moment, jumping around like a
Holy shit, I say, grinning from ear to ear.
DVD randomly skipping between tracks.
Nobody realizes that the grin is an expression
It tries to decide if this is Heaven or Hell,
of my amusement at being eternally damned.
and cannot resolve this. It burns us and it
You dont say, says J, with a curious/
freezes, precious. Torment and ecstasy rolled
worried/amused look. Multiple orgasms?
all together in a tight little ball. Shes right.
asks M. No. Kind of. Yeah, I guess. Not
Its not LIKE anything. Later, someone
really. Its everything, says M to J, as
tells me that N,N-DMT is similar. Similar?
always. You wanna go there? No, I say,
How could anything be similar? What could
quite emphatically. I cant bear the thought
possibly be like that, without being that?
of J having to be trapped here too. No, says
M says, Its always like this. Someone J, following the script. I know that about
else says, or is SUPPOSED to say, But its you, says M, eternally.
different this time. ...Scattered laughter...
MUST BREAK THE CAUSAL LOOP,
P says, Do you want me to close the door,
is my urgent and only thought (yes, my brain
so it will always be dark?
at that moment had chosen to paraphrase a
This has always been said. All of this has line from the movie Happy Accidents, still
always happened. freshly imprinted on my fragile neurons) as
I cleverly exclaim Goddamnit, and lunge
I say clever things like, shit, and fuck,
clumsily for the door. Through the door,
while I think, always, Why did I do that?
the bubble of time stretches and breaks
Now Im trapped here forever. I wonder if
around me. I feel streamers of time bubble
my body will die in this room, or dematerial-
still clinging to me, but they gradually
ize; or if it will go on, perhaps with some other
dissolve as I concentrate all of my being on
entity at the helm, seeming to live out the rest
interacting with the others outside, trying
of my life while this consciousness remains
to form coherent words to describe what is
in this moment for eternity. Maybe this is
happening to me.
the point where I wake up in my mothers
womb, destined to live this same pointless What HAD happened. Past tense, now.
life up to this moment, memory wiped but Thats better.
 As J settles beside me, I implore, If I
ever, ever tell you I want to do that again, talk
me out of it. Immediately, I begin thinking of
circumstances under which I would consider
taking this drug again.
Recovery and physical effects:
Although nobody was keeping track of
the timeand the subjective experience
lasted for eternitythe entire episode up
to this point probably took no more than a
few minutes, somewhere between 5 and 20.
Recovery largely involved lying on my back,
breathing deeply, and attempting to describe
what I experienced to concerned onlookers.
It eventually came to me that not only was the
hardwood floor under my back rather cold,
but my presence there, fervently gasping
precious life back into my body, was probably
a bit of a bummer to the people attempting
to talk and play games there in the living
room. With some help from J, I made my way
upstairs to the darker, quieter, sleeping/chill
area upstairs, where I could finish recovering
in a warm bed without bothering people.
My body seemed almost completely
anesthetized by the drug, and numbness
in the roof of my mouth and extremities
persisted for quite awhile after I initially fled
the smoking room, probably at least 30 to 60
minutes. For the next hour or two after that,
my muscles would occasionally convulse as
they continued to awaken, though I did not
find this painful. It was rather nice to not be
feeling the usual chronic pain in my back and
hips. After lying in bed for 15 to 30 minutes,
I got up and did a little bit of slow, cautious
yoga, hoping to align my muscles and bones
the best I could before they remembered
their usual cramped positions.
After crawling back into bed, I lay wide-
awake, eyes open, for what may have been
several hours, even after J curled up next to
me and went to sleep. During that period, I
wanted to take in as much of waking reality
as possible, and was not eager to lose control
of my consciousness to sleep. When I
eventually did find myself drifting off, I was
jarred awake several times by the sensation
that I was slipping back into the drug-state
again, fully re-experiencing the conversation
and sensations of that eternal moment as if
I had never left it. Eventually, I did manage
to get a little bit of real sleep.
It is worth noting that I felt no nausea
at all, through any of it. I have found that
with almost any drug, I am better off if I
consume a reasonably sized meal about 2 to
4 hours before dosing. This seems to settle
Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004
my stomach quite effectively. I understand
that many other people have the opposite
reaction with this and other drugs, finding that
eating first just gives their churning stomachs
something to spew. This may be connected to
my hypoglycemia, meaning that preventing a
blood sugar spike or drop may be the key for
me in keeping my stomach happy.
In the next couple of nights, I found
myself briefly slipping back into the drug
state for brief periods while dreaming,
without being jarred awake. This has been
a much more pleasant experience than the
previous terror of being trapped in that
moment forever. I awaken feeling good about
it, though I dont recall much of the dream
clearly in normal, waking consciousness. I
have also occasionally felt on the verge of
re-entering that state while awake, simply by
concentrating on remembering the sensation
of it. I believe that with much effort and
practice, I could bring myself there at will.
The questions are whether I really want
to go there, and if so, what would I do with
it?
Post-analysis:
NOT A RECREATIONAL DRUG. If
youre looking for a light-hearted experience
with pretty colors and fun, I cant recommend
this stuff. The experience was intense beyond
imagining, and probably worthwhile, but
not what Id call fun. On the other hand,
I am a person who tends to have difficulty
simply enjoying the experience of a hal-
lucinogen without feeling the need to use
the opportunity to deal with important issues
(which is one reason why I really should not
be taking them at parties), so take this with a
grain of salt. Then again, Ive never had what
Cognitive Transformation,
by Ben Tolman
I would call a bad trip because I see every
trip as a learning experience and an analytical
tool rather than a qualitatively good or bad
experience. However you look at it, Ill be
dealing with this experience for quite some
time, likely for the rest of my life. Not a thing
to be taken lightly.
One of my first thoughts, as life crept
back in, was that this experience had made
clear to me that decades of meditation and
mental conditioning to achieve a state like
that would have been worth it to get there
in a gentler, more organic way. I resort to
chemical methods to achieve higher mind
states in part because I am lazy and impatient
and feel that I lack the discipline to get there
on my own. However, as previous trips with
other substances have hinted, the chemical
way is actually the hard way.
At the very least, I think Id have an easier
time of it if I were in good physical condition
before undergoing something like this. Good
circulation and healthy organs would likely
enhance the experience itself as well as
improve the recovery. Having a more positive
general outlook, as well as more experience
in consciously shifting mind states would
most likely be helpful as well. And Im sure it
wouldnt hurt to have my chakras all aligned
and spinning properly going in. All of these
things would certainly be improved with
regular exercise, meditation, and yoga. Id
want to prepare the physical space better too,
which for me would mean some sort of ritual
cleansing, and surrounding myself with the
right scenery (mandalas, ritual objects) and
sounds (gentle, ambient music or chanting)
to help me keep a particular focus.
In short, it may be impossible to ever be
fully prepared for an experience
as unique as this, but Im sure its
possible to be better prepared
than I was. At the very
least, choose a space
thats suitable to the
type of experience
youd like to have,
and have a goal,
general focus, or at
least some idea of
what youd like to
reach for.
7
Drug Geeks
Informed Peers in the Psychoactive Community
The following is an adaptation of a
light-hearted presentation given at the
Mindstates Jamaica conference in October
2002 about the role of peers in psychoac-
tive information distribution networks. It
was also published as an article in Trip
magazines final issue that saw limited
distribution.
Introduction
Everyone knows at least one: the walking
encyclopedia of trivia about baseball, film or
some other miscellaneous topic.
Even those with no connection to the
psychoactive research and user communities
are likely to be familiar with the stereotype of
the uneducated druggie blithely stumbling
from one drug experience to the next. But the
pantheon of characters who spend their time
immersed in the intricacies of the interface
between body and mind is surprisingly
diverse. The lay person can easily fail to
recognize the druggie in that pharmacol-
ogy or chemistry student intimately familiar
with serotonin-transporter research, or in the
talented photographer next door, or perhaps
in the exceptionally green-thumbed forensic
pathologist.
Character Sketch
Drug Geeks are individuals who
self-identify (either publicly or privately) as
being knowledgeable about psychoactives.
Their deep interest in the topic makes them
avid learners. When sitting around talking
with friends, they get up to find an answer
to a question. They do a web search or look
up information in a book. More than that,
they are the ones with the reference books
to begin with. Within any group of friends,
they are the individuals whom others go to
for questions about psychoactive drugs. They
attend psychoactive-related conferences, me-
ticulously document their own experiences in
a journal, read scientific articles, subscribe
to psychedelic magazines to keep up with
the latest knowledge, or browse trip reports
for fun.
8 Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004
Drug Geeks dont necessarily use a lot of
psychoactives themselves. Many fulfill their
interest by studying the subject, writing about
it, or experiencing it vicariously through the
writings of others. Others enjoy working
with extremely mild herbs, supplements, and
technologies and prefer to avoid the stronger
alterants. For some people, these can provide
a more consistent long-term relationship
with psychoactives since they dont require
as much energy and time as buying and
ingesting the more socially disapproved
plants or chemicals.
The self-taught expert is present in every
field of study, within every hobby and every
community. One of the differentiating
factors when it comes to psychoactives is the
danger (legally, socially and professionally)
inherent in demonstrating this knowledge and
expertise to those outside of the subculture.
This adds a mystery school component to
the system, creating secret experts; by day a
normal college studentby night the leading
expert in the Midwest on undetectable dorm
room cultivation of psilocybin-containing
mushrooms.
The Collector
One of the drug geek sub-types is the
Collector. This is the individual who collects
samples of as many different psychoactives
as possible. They may not care if they have
enough for a dose and they may not have any
particular interest in ingesting the substances
they collect (they often dont). Their primary
interest is in having a reference sample for
their collection.
The first time we encountered this type,
a man offered to show us what he called
his baseball card collection. From the
context of the conversation, it was clear he
was talking about psychoactives, but beyond
that we had no idea what he meant. He
brought out a small box filled with dozens
of carefully labeled plastic bags, vials, and
neatly folded bits of tinfoil. He opened each
item, one by one, to show us the small pile
of powder, pills, paper, or material inside.
His collection included a wide array of
By Earth & Fire Erowid
tryptamines, phenethylamines, and curious
plant extracts, many of which we had never
seen before.
He described when and how he had
acquired each, some more than 10 years
before. He waxed nostalgic about the
experiences hed had when ingesting a
particular material or about the person from
whom he had acquired it. Many of the
items had stories about their provenance:
the chemist who made them and how they
got from the chemist to him. He also had
empty containers that contained residue of
substances from some of his most memorable
experiences. He would smell them and offer
whiffs to us as he related their stories.
Since that first encounter more than five
years ago, weve met many other Collectors.
Some specialize in one class of substance,
like the person who sent us a photo of his
ecstasy tablet collection including dozens of
imprints, or the many who collect LSD blotter
art, both dipped and un-dipped.
Another Collector weve encountered has
gathered all of the psychoactive chemicals
he can find and plans to take a dose of
each one and encase it in plastic, creating a
collection of desktop paperweights which he
thinkseven with scheduled drugsmight
be quasi-legal.
The Taster
While the Collector collects objects,
the Taster collects experiences. Tasters are
people who want to have tried everything.
They pride themselves on trying as many
substances as possible, seeking out and
being the first to experience new substances,
as well as trying uncommon and interesting
combinations. Often the Tasters dont ingest
any given substance very many times and
have no intention of doing so. Instead, they
are connoisseurs of variety.
It is not unusual for the Tasters excitement
to be higher near the beginning of his or her
relationship with psychoactives, and so
many Tasters are younger with less years of
experience under their belts. But some go on

to long careers of methodically finding and
trying new substances.
Some Tasters spend their time comparing
and contrasting the similarities and subtle
differences between the substance theyve
triedMDA vs. MDMA or 2C-I vs. 2C-B
while others simply check each substance off
their long list after trying it. But, regardless
of whether they are lusting after the elusive
mescaline, 4-methyl-aminorex, or the almost
mythical ALD-52, what unites Tasters is their
desire to try new substances.
The Daredevil
The Daredevil shares some characteristics
with the Taster, but this type wants to push
the limits of experience (and often of safety)
by doing higher doses and having more
mind-bending experiences than others. Some
Daredevils dont qualify as Drug Geeks at all
and are simply thrill seekers, but there are
those Daredevils who are actually looking to
accumulate knowledgepart of the definition
of a Drug Geekby their willingness to
push the boundaries ever further. This type
should not be confused with the Hard Head
(who requires higher doses than others to
reach comparable effects), although they do
sometimes overlap.
Plant Geeks
Plant Geeks are those who focus their
attention on the plant kingdom. Some grow
a wide variety of psychoactive plants, while
others specialize in a particular genus or in
those containing a specific substance. Plants
may be chosen because of their academic,
historical, cultural, or metaphysical sig-
nificance, and again, may not be intended
for ingestion. An earlier interest in ingesting
psychoactives may have been transmuted
into a longer-term interest in the botany,
chemistry, and spirit of the plants. The
relationship between humans and power
plants or plant allies is important to many
Plant Geeks.
We visited one Plant Geek while we
were in a semi-tropical area outside the
Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004
U.S. They showed us around their extensive
outdoor garden, which included kava kava,
Banisteriopsis caapi, Brugmansia, and a
variety of other psychoactive plants. We
were shown through their greenhouse, where
they allowed us to photograph every plant but
one. We were asked not to take pictures of
that specific plant because they had a very
special relationship with it which they did
not want to endanger.
Another Plant Geek we met had their
entire property overgrown with Salvia
divinorum. Hallways and sidewalks were
lined with S. divinorum of all sizes, from the
smallest cutting (please take a couple!)
to 9-foot tall flowering specimens that they
were carefully hand-pollinating. Another
had a cactus collection spread across several
properties. New spots were carefully chosen
for cuttings and friends were enlisted to help
dig, carry, and move them from one location
to another.
And then theres the world of Plant Geeks
that focuses entirely on mushrooms and
mushroom cultivation. From local mycology
clubs that have substantial numbers of
psilocybe-philes to the huge network of
amateur and professional mycologists
focusing on psychoactive varieties, the
mushroom Plant Geek is a surprisingly
common breed. One may focus on perfecting
a specific technique for closet cultivation while
another combs the local forests to find all the
best spots where mushrooms grow in the
wild. One Plant Geek weve met specializes
in developing techniques for outdoor guerrilla
planting of Psilocybe species to spots he
never plans to harvest: its just his own private
protest and gift to the world.
It may be surprising that many of these
people rarely (if ever) ingest any psychoactive
plants themselves. They are often hesitant or
unwilling to initiate anyone new, and have no
interest in selling anything. One myco-geek
we met enjoys the process of growing for
its own sake: he figures out how to cultivate
new psilocybin-producing species, gets them
to fruit, writes up his notes, buries the fruit,
then starts again with a new species.
Photo by Cyblue, 2004 Erowid.org
Chemistry Geek
One of the more prominent geek types
is the Chemistry Geek. Everyone involved
in studying psychoactives for long will
eventually meet one. They range from the
undergrad who dreams of mastering LSD
synthesis to the professional PhD with 40
years of bench experience. They can often
be identified by the bits of paper in their
pockets covered with arachnoid scribblings
of new molecules, analytical results, or
synthesis steps.
While at Burning Man 2001, we were
asked by a visitor if we could show them the
structure of 4-methyl-aminorex. We were
unable to find the structure in our small on-
playa library and also failed to find anyone
else familiar with it. This failure came up
in conversation at Burning Man 2002 as we
sat talking to a friendly chemist-type who
stopped by our dome. He knew the 4-methyl-
aminorex structure and drew it on the white
board we kept strapped to the wall, then went
on his way. A different chemist, who stopped
by the dome later that day, recognized the
molecule (despite it not being labeled) and
commented that hed been thinking about
the 4-methyl-aminorex synthesis process for
a while but was still missing one part. He
spent 15 minutes carefully drawing a series
of steps for a potential synthesis path, leaving
a large space in the middle marked with a
question mark. Another day passed and a
third chemist dropped in, pausing in front of
the whiteboard. Noting the missing step, he
commented oh that step is easy, erased the
question mark and replaced it with another
drawing of some benzene ring and squiggly
lines and letters. Soon afterwards the chemist
who had drawn the original synthesis returned
to find his drawing completed. He got very
excited and happily exclaimed Yes, yes! I
think that would probably work!
For those of us who have only a passing
familiarity with organic chemistry or those
for whom the tryptamine backbone is a
meaningless phrase, the cryptic language
of the Chemistry Geek is something to be
experienced aesthetically. It seems a mix
9
of technology and magic, somehow both
modern and medieval in its translation from
flask to writing and back again. There is
something smile-inducing about watching
Sasha Shulgin wave his arms as he talks about
the dirty pictures of organic chemistry or
listening to experienced chemists as they
chatter at high speed in an alchemical dialect
known only to themselves.
The Chemistry Geek is perhaps one of the
most heralded of the drug geeks, both within
the subculture and in the mainstream. There
are PhD programs and a large pharmaceutical
industry that spur them on to new heights. Its
one of the few drug geek subtypes that can
reliably lead to a well paid career, although
most Chemistry Geeks must keep their
less-approved interests very quiet lest they
attract unwanted attention and scrutiny.
Photos (clockwise from upper left):
1) 250 mg MDMA crystals in baggie,
photo by Mr Mojo Rising;
2) 22.5 mg 2CB in vial, photo by Erowid
3) Four codeine tablets, photo by Tsyn
4) Datura inoxia, photo by Rol
Photo Geek
There are also those who prefer
photographs of psychoactive plants
and chemicals to the substances
themselves. Like mainstream
mycological photographers weve met who
dont particularly care for eating mushrooms,
there are those who spend their time and
energy seeking plants with psychoactive
properties to capture as images. One of the
benefits of this flavor of obsession is that
it avoids some of the potential legal risks
incurred by the geek types that like to handle,
collect, or produce controlled substances.
10
Fire and I certainly qualify as Photo
Geeks. My first thought when someone talks
about a substance theyve tried or a plant
theyre growing is to self-consciously wonder
how rude it would be to ask if we could take
a picture of it. Wheres the camera? runs
through my mind along with I wonder if the
scanner is in the car
At an outdoor all-night dance party a few
years ago, a cute young female came up to us
and asked us if we wanted any E. As a part
of our process of watching and documenting
the psychoactive-using subculture, we asked
if she was selling any other substances. She
replied that she also had 2C-B. I told her
Were not interested in buying any, but how
would you feel if we took some pictures of
what youve got? She was initially a little
put off by our request,
but she
called over her boyfriend to consult. We
got into a long conversation about their
strange underground business of supplying
psychoactives at parties, about the ethics of
selling, and about their belief that their work
helped strengthen the community. After
talking, he was happy to let us take pictures of
his wares, so we then spent thirty minutes in a
corner photographing their nice individually
labeled 22.5 mg vials of 2C-B.
And Many More...
These are only some of the more
common varieties of specialist Drug Geeks.
Perhaps the most common Drug Geek is
the Generalist who is at heart interested
in how psychoactives are (mis)used and
(mis)understood by society, and who enjoys
discovering and promulgating factual
information. The Supplement Geek knows
just the right combination of vitamins,
minerals or nutraceuticals to pre-load for
trips, improve effects, soften the come-
down, recharge the day after, or rebalance
the system. The Law Geek reads every
related court opinion, monitors ongoing
cases, knows the flaws and vagaries of every
psychoactive related law, and stays abreast
of the minutiae of Federal Register filings
by the DEA. The Music Geek collects
traditional music like icaros and songs
from the ayahuasca churches, tracks which
music is best to accompany each type of
experience, or writes their own to fill in
where lacking. The History Geek knows
the origins of specific substances, which
plants were traditionally used
by which culture, who
first synthesized psilocybin
and in what year, when
mescaline was scheduled,
and what government or-
ganization was in charge of
drug laws at the time. The
Art Geek keeps their finger
on the pulse of psychoac-
tive art: who keeps the best
collections, where there are
current showings, whose art has
been used on LSD blotter. And
the list goes on and on.
Regardless of the subject matter,
specialists such as those described above
serve an important purpose. Without
attention from aficionados who focus
intensely on the unique and obscure details
of a given field of knowledge, that knowledge
stagnates. It often seems to be the large
corporations, institutions, and big dollars
that drive the advancement of knowledge,
but behind these are key individuals with a
keen interest in learning, teaching, archiving,
or documenting. Whether they work in a
field where they are well paid, or one where
they volunteer, it is these information geeks
that push the boundaries of knowledge and
understanding.
Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004
Ask Erowid
Is Past Substance Use Illegal?
Q Is it against the law to have is not. Because of this, in these jurisdic- in February 2004 where his conviction
used an illegal controlled tions, there would need to be evidence of was upheld. That court decided that a
substance in the past? past possession before charges could be recent change to the wording of the states
A
In general, past use of an illegal
drug is unlikely to lead to legal
proceedings. It is legally the same
as having committed any other
minor criminal act: The more recent the use,
the more evidence there is for the act, the
more problematic it becomes.
The following should not be taken as legal advice. If
you need legal help, please seek the advice of a lawyer.
Overview
People primarily ask about the legal risks
of past use because they want to be able to
talk or write about their experiences. When
describing past illegal acts, mentioning
specifics about timing and location increases
risk of prosecution. If the statute of limitations
has not run out, it is possible that a judge
could grant a search warrantor in extreme
cases, an arrest warrantbased on specific
details of past use. In some areas, a positive
drug test is treated as evidence of a crime.
Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations on controlled
substance violations differs dramatically from
one jurisdiction to another. In many areas
prosecution is limited to five (or seven) years
after the crime is committed. Others start the
clock counting only when police have evidence
of the crime in hand. And in a small but growing
number of locations, there is no statutory limit
on prosecution of drug offenses.
Violations that have happened within
the statute-limited period can be prosecuted
if there is enough evidence. Simply talking
about past use, by itself, is very unlikely
to be considered proof of a crime, which
means the authorities would need to have
additional evidence to prove their case (or
even get an arrest warrant). It is important to
note, however, that out-of-court documented
admissions of law violations can be strong
evidence if a trial does take place.
Possession
In most states, possession of a controlled
substance is illegal but use of the substance
Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004
brought. This evidence could exist in the
form of photographs, video, or the testimony
of others, but even these might not lead to
prosecution if the quantities were small
and sales were not involved. As long as the
individual is no longer in possession of illegal
materials, past possession of small quantities
of an illegal substance is unlikely to ever be
prosecuted.
Ingestion
In some places, local or state laws have
been passed making use of a controlled
substance illegal. This can take the form
of specific legislation against ingestion
or use (usually as a misdemeanor) or by
redefining the term possession to include
the presence of a controlled substance in the
body after it has been ingested. In at least
one jurisdiction, a positive drug test can be
grounds for prosecution.
A recent case in South Dakota (S. Dakota
v. Schroeder) has received some press because
a man who tested positive for amphetamines
was prosecuted for possession of an illegal
substance based solely on a positive drug
test.1 A man was pulled over by police who
searched his car. After the police found a
scale under the drivers seat the defendant
consented to a urine test, which came back
positive for methamphetamine. Based on this
evidence alone, the defendant was convicted
of possession of a controlled substance.2
He and his lawyers argued that he should
be charged under South Dakotas ingestion
laws which make it a misdemeanor to take
a substance into the body for the purpose of
intoxication (with the exceptions of alcohol
and prescribed medications).
Any person who intentionally
ingests, inhales, or otherwise takes
into the body any substance, except
alcoholic beverages [...] for purposes
of becoming intoxicated, unless such
substance is prescribed by a practitio-
ner of the medical arts [...], is guilty
of a Class 1 misdemeanor.3
Instead, he was prosecuted under the
felony possession laws. The case made
its way to the South Dakota Supreme Court
by Fire Erowid
controlled substance laws made it clear that
the legislature intended a positive drug test to
be prosecutable under the possession laws.
The new wording includes in the definition
of a controlled substance:
an altered state of a drug or substance
listed in Schedules I through IV
absorbed into the human body.2
With this rewording South Dakota has made
the presence of both controlled substances
and metabolites of controlled substances in
the human body the equivalent of possession
of a controlled substance. The only evidence
needed is a positive drug test.
The Schroeder case, though unusual,
is an example where recent past use was
prosecuted as a crime. It is now possible
for drug tests conducted on hair to detect
use of some controlled substances from more
than 3 months prior; with the improvement
in drug testing techniques, this period will
continue to lengthen. In jurisdictions with
laws similar to South Dakota, it is possible
that a positive drug test from three or four
years ago could be used as the primary
evidence for charges of either illegal use or
illegal possession as long as the statute of
limitations has not expired.
Other Issues
Suggestion or evidence of past illegal
substance use could pose a problem even
if there is not enough evidence to support
criminal charges. A few scenarios where this
could be an issue are: in a fight for custody of
children, if a parents past use is brought to
the attention of child protective services, and
in the workplace, where the mere suggestion
of drug use could lead to the loss of ones job
or professional license.
References
1. South Dakota Internal Possession Drug
Law Upheld. Drug War Chronicle. Dec
19, 2003. Issue 316. http://stopthedrugwar.
org/chronicle/326/southdakota.shtml
2. State of South Dakota v. Joshua Schroeder,
674 N.W.2d 827, 2004 SD 21. Feb 18 2004.
3. SDCL 22-42-15. South Dakota Codified
Laws. Jul 1 2003.
11
 A Survey of
Salvia divinorum Users
I
n 2002, Bryan Roth and colleagues
published their unexpected discovery
that salvinorin A, the primary psycho-
active chemical in Salvia divinorum
(SD), appears to work through activating the
kappa-opioid receptor system. Previously, it
had only been known that SDs mechanism
of action differed from the classic hal-
lucinogens, although its pharmacology was
unknown. The Roth paper transformed
the plant from an obscure and puzzling
entheogen into a tool for pharmacologi-
cal research. This tool shows promise in
providing new insights into the working of
the brain, drug dependence, Alzheimers
disease, psychosis, and the obscure kappa-
opioid receptor system.1,2
According to this research, salvinorin
A binds to and activates kappa-opioid
receptors but does not activate the mu-opioid
receptor that morphine acts on. Roth et al.
confirmed previous research in finding that
salvinorin A has no detectable affinity for
the 5HT2A serotonin receptor and [does]
not activate 5HT2A receptors 1 (where
LSD and psilocybin are known to act). The
kappa-opioid receptor has been of interest
because pharmaceuticals that activate this
12
receptor block pain, yet rats dont self the compounds are absorbed, metabolized,
administer themunlike the mu-opioid and excreted from the body and the effects
agonists (morphine, hydrocodone, etc.).3 those compounds produce. We applied for
funding and approval to study those who were
These findings suggest that kappa-opioid
already using SD, hoping to shed some light
agonists are less addictive and have a lower
on how salvinorin A acts in the human body
potential for abuse than mu-opioid agonists.
and to formally characterize its effects.
But a major problem is that human research
volunteers given kappa-opioid agonist Very little has been published in the
drugs have found the effects disturbing and medical and research literature about SD
unpleasant, including strange racing thoughts use. In order to develop preliminary data, we
and other neuropsychiatric adverse events.4 collaborated with Erowid.org to survey users
One research group has used the term psy- of SD. One goal for this preliminary data was
chotomimetic to describe their effects.5
Because users of Salvia divinorum are
likely to tolerate and possibly even enjoy high ...the primary focus of the survey:
doses of SDs kappa agonist, studying its use consequences of using the plant,
in humans could provide access to a wealth of lasting effects, and patterns of
untapped information about the kappa-opioid use.
receptor system. It is also important that we
learn about SDs effects on humans because
there is currently a population using it, and
to help gather evidence (both for ourselves
yet very little is known about toxicity and
as well as the FDA and NIH reviewers) that
possible physical health risks. The need to
salvinorin A could be safely administered
better understand SDs potential health risks
to a small set of experienced users in a lab
as well as the function of the kappa-opioid
setting. This provided the primary focus
system makes a compelling case for studying
of the survey: consequence of use, lasting
SD in humans.
effects, and usage patterns.
Soon after the Roth work was announced,
After approval by our Institutional Review
John Mendelson (a senior researcher with
Board (a requirement for any research or
extensive experience in the field of psychoac-
survey involving humans), we decided on a
tive drug research) and I sought funding from
45-question web-based questionnaire with
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to
a target of 500 anonymous respondents.
study Salvia divinorum and its
Questions were mostly multiple-choice and
active compound
numerical-answer with a few open-ended
salvinorin A. Our
responses. Links were added from SD-related
workformerly
pages on Erowid.org to the Erowid-hosted
at the University
survey. A summary of both the privacy policy
of California at San
and contact information for the researchers
Francisco and now
was provided and no identifying personal
in a newly-forming
information was collected.
research centerhas
focused on adminis- We have presented the preliminary
tering psychoactives analysis of these data at several scientific
to drug-experienced conferences including the April 2004
volunteers. The goal has Towards a Science of Consciousness
been to understand the conference in Tucson, AZ. What follows is
relationship between how a summary of the presentation.
Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004
 by Matthew Baggott Effects
with E. & F. Erowid Lingering After
Main Intoxication:
Effect %*
Increased Insight 47.0
Improved Mood 44.8
Calmness 42.2
Increased Connection
39.8
RESULTS Reported Number of with Universe or Nature
We were pleased and surprised when we Salvia divinorum Exposures Weird Thoughts 36.4
reached our target of 500 complete responses Things Seem Unreal 32.4
Mean St. Dev Range
within a matter of weeks. In that time,
In last 30 days 1.5 2.6 0-24 Floating Feeling 32.0
the study questionnaire was viewed 1298
times, with 520 viewers (40.1%) submitting In last year 7.5 12 0-110 Increased Sweating 28.2
a completed questionnaire. 500 of 520 Ever 13 23 1-250 Body Felt Warm or Hot 25.2
(96.2%) responses were usable. Data were Mind Racing 23.2
excluded from analysis if (1) the response
smoked SD most often used a concentrated Lightheaded 22.2
was incomplete, (2) the participant reported
extract (61.4%) or dried leaf (37.3%). 4.2% Increased Self-confidence 21.6
having previously completed the survey, (3)
had ever used purified salvinorin A, the main
the participant reported he or she was not Improved Concentration 19.4
psychoactive constituent in Salvia divinorum.
fluent in English or had difficulty understand- Drowsiness 18.8
SD was often used in darkness (62.2%), with
ing the questions, (4) another response was
music (44.6%), or with a sober companion Dizziness 18.6
submitted from the same computer within
(38.6%). Commonly expressed (>50%) Lack of Coordination 18.0
ten minutes, or (5) the participant reported
reasons for SD use were to explore altered
no use of SD. Feel Like Someone
consciousness (86.2%), curiosity (76.6%), to or Something Else
14.0
92.6% of respondents were male. It is have a spiritual/mystical experience (74.0%),
not clear whether this is representative of pursuit of personal growth/self-understand- Heart Racing 13.2
SD users or simply those who were willing ing (69.2%), and contemplation/meditation Bothered by Noises 12.2
to participate in our survey. Average age was (52.0%). Difficulty Concentrating 12.0
23.4 years old (range of 1368) and 77.4% Yawning 11.8
live in the United States. 80.6% reported they
Nature of Effects: Anxiety 9.4
would probably or definitely use SD again.
Because early research with LSD and Difficulty Sleeping 7.8
other psychoactives has shown that peoples Chills or Gooseflesh 7.0
Usage Patterns and Motivations: memory for overwhelming altered states is
Increased Urine Production 6.4
Most respondents (92.6%) typically often very poor, we did not focus on trying to
smoked or vaporized SD product. Those who document the acute inebriation. Instead, we Body Felt Cold 6.4
Watery Eyes 5.4
Decreased Connection
5.4
What form have you with Universe or Nature
Would you use
Salvia divinorum again? smoked most often? Irritable 5.0
Worsened Mood 4.0
Decreased Self-confidence 2.4
Nausea 1.8
Probably Yes Runny Nose or Sneezing 1.8
(26.2%) Muscle Cramps or Aches 1.8
Dried SD Leaf Decreased Insight 1.8
Definitely Yes Fortified Leaf or (37.3%)
(54.4%) Maybe Extract (61.4%) Decreased Sweating 1.6
(12.8%)
Decreased Urine Production 0.6
Diarrhea 0.2
Probably Not Vomiting 0.0
(5.4%)
Pure Salvinorin * % of respondents reporting they sometimes
Definitely Not (1.3%) or often experienced the listed effect.
(1.2%)

Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004 13

asked volunteers to compare SDs effects to
those of other methods of altering conscious-
ness. We searched through responses and
found several commonalities:
Comparison of SD to other
Methods of Altering Consciousness
Effect Comparison %*
reported SD is unique 38.4
reported SD is like meditation/yoga/
23.2
trances
reported SD is like serotonergic
17.7
hallucinogens (e.g. LSD)
reported SD is like dreaming 7.1
reported SD is like NMDA antagonists
6.8
(e.g. ketamine) and other anesthetics
reported SD is like cannabis 6.5
* Each response could fit more than one
category thus total does not equal 100%
Our survey confirms that most users
regard the SD experience as very different
from most other inebriants. This is perhaps
unsurprising considering the mechanism by
which SD acts is unlike those of cannabis
or classical serotonergic hallucinogens like
LSD. This finding suggests that SD cannot be
considered an analog of either hallucinogens
or cannabis (as some would have it). If SD
is to be made a controlled substance then it
will have to be explicitly scheduled.
Duration of Effects:
Estimated duration of effects for smoked
or vaporized SD is summarized in the chart
shown below. There were insufficient
respondents who took SD sublingually (under
the tongue) to draw any conclusions about
that method.
Estimated Duration of Effects
When Smoked or Vaporized (min):
Form Mean Std Dev Min Max
SD extract 14.1 12.8 0.5 120
(N = 296)
SD leaf
(N = 180) 16.2 14.8 1 90
Salvinorin A
(N = 6) 27.5 16.1 13 50
Persisting Effects:
Many respondents (25.8%) reported
improved mood and antidepressant-like
effects lasting 24 hours or more after use.
This is consistent with (or possibly influenced
by) a case report published by Karl Hanes.6
14
In contrast, serious adverse events were
rare in this young population. Only 4.4%
reported persisting (24 hours or more)
negative effects (most often anxiety) on
at least one occasion. Three respondents
(0.6%) had sought professional help for an
SD-related problem on at least one occasion.
One went to a priest to discuss Catholicism,
while a second visited a therapist. The single
respondent who reported seeking emergency
treatment had used multiple substances
(dimethyltryptamine, dextromethorphan, SD,
methamphetamine, diphenhydramine, etc.)
and described what might have been stimulant
psychosis. While few serious adverse events
were reported by our participants, it is
important to realize that the toxicity of new
drugs is often only detected as use spreads to
greater numbers of people.
Dependence-Related
Phenomena:
SD dependence has not been previously
reported, although animal studies suggest
kappa agonists can induce a withdrawal
syndrome comparable to mu agonists.7 We
found little evidence of dependence in our
survey population. While some reported
possible dependence, there were too few of
these individuals to interpret their reports
with any confidence. 0.6% of respondents
reported feeling addicted to or dependent
upon SD at some point, while 1.2% reported
strong cravings. The standard psychiatric
diagnostic system in the United States
classifies people as drug dependent based on
seven signs and symptoms. When we asked
about these signs and symptoms individually,
0.4% reported experiencing three, which
could qualify them as dependent (of course
a clinical interview would be necessary to
confirm this). Interestingly, none of these
individuals reported more than 2 of 13
after-effects characteristic of mu-opioid
withdrawal (such as increased sweating,
gooseflesh, worsened mood, diarrhea, etc.).
Future of Control
Salvia divinorum has been marketed
over the web and in smoke shops as a legal
intoxicant. Newspaper and television reports
have noted that the DEA is tracking the
spread of SD use. This raises the question
of if, when, and how SD will be made a
controlled substance. Overall, salvinorin A
seems to be unlike other drugs of abuse and,
at least in the individuals responding to our
survey, appears to have a low potential for
abuse and dependence. Few, if any, seem to
consider it a party or club drug. However, it
does have potent effects and there is a risk
that inebriated users may injure themselves
or others.
Two scenarios for the scheduling of
SD seem plausible. One is that the DEA
will wait until several emergency room
visits are documented. It seems inevitable
that such SD-related visits will occur.
serious adverse events were
rare [...] We found little evidence
of dependence in our survey
population.
Several anecdotal reports describe inebriated
individuals walking around in a confused
delirium. A second scenario is that SD will
be scheduled by Congress, which tends to
be more political in its attitudes toward psy-
choactive substances. It also seems possible
that SD will be swept up in an eventual bill
targeted at curtailing internet sales of drugs
such as pain killers.
Although our first NIH grant application
was not funded, we received supportive
comments from reviewers and are preparing
to resubmit the application. In the interim, we
have obtained FDA permission to administer
salvinorin A to human volunteers. We hope
that the data provided by the participants in
this survey will not only inform users and
the general public about Salvia divinorum
but will also convince reviewers of the
importance of clinical studies of this unusual
plant.
How intense of an SD
experience do you prefer?
Moderately
(44.8%)
Not Very
Very
(44.8%)
(12.2%)
Not At All
(3.4%)
Extremely
(4.4%)
Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004

Matthew Baggott
is currently a student
in the Neuroscience PhD
program at the University of
California Berkeley. He has
authored a number of scientific articles
and book chapters, many of them about
MDMA. Baggott has collaborated for
years with John Mendelson in clinical
psychopharmacology research.
References
1. Roth BL, Baner K, et al. Salvinorin A: a potent
naturally occurring non-nitrogenous kappa
opioid selective agonist. Proc Natl Acad Sci.
2002; 99(18):11934-9.
2. Sheffler DJ, Roth BL. Salvinorin A: the magic
mint hallucinogen finds a molecular target in
the kappa opioid receptor. Trends Pharmacol
Sci. 2003; 24(3):107-9.
3. Tang AH, Collins RJ. Behavioral effects of a
novel kappa opioid analgesic, U-50488, in rats
and rhesus monkeys. Psychopharmacology
(Berl). 1985; 85(3):309-14.
4. Pande AC, Pyke RE, et al. Analgesic efficacy
of enadoline versus placebo or morphine in
postsurgical pain. Clin Neuropharmacol.
1996; 19(5):451-6.
5. Pfeiffer A, Brantl V, et al. Psychotomimesis
mediated by kappa opiate receptors.
Science. Aug 1986; 233(4765):774-6.
6. Hanes, K. Antidepressant effects of the herb
Salvia divinorum. J Clin Psychopharmacol.
2001; 21:634-5.
7. Young GA, Khazan N. Self-administration of
ketocyclazocine and ethylketocyclazocine by
the rat. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1983;
19(4):711-3.
Addendum
In Issue #4 of Erowid Extracts we
published an article titled Desiccant
and the Storage of Chemicals. The
article described different types
of desiccants including silica gel,
which often comes in small enclosed
packets.
In the section about re-activating
silica gel desiccants by heating
them in the oven at low heat, we
mentioned that these packets can
also be re-activated this way.
It has come to our attention that
the ouside of silica gel desiccant
packs are sometimes made of
plastic. While packs enclosed in
Tyvek, cloth, or paper can be re-
activated, the plastic-enclosed packs
can not. If heated in the oven, even
at a relatively low temperature, the
plastic outer layer can melt.

Organizational Updates
MAPS (maps.org)
The first two patients in the MAPS-sponsored MDMA/post-
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) study were administered either
MDMA or placebo in April 2004. There have been no safety issues
and more patients are scheduled to begin soon. Plans are underway
for several other research projects, including one examining LSD and
psilocybin as treatments for cluster headaches.
SSDP (ssdp.org)
On April 13, 2004 Students for a Sensible Drug Policy held a HEA
Day of Action to raise awareness about the Higher Education Act
1998 drug provision, which denies federal funds to students with past
drug convictions. SSDP and NORML members at college campuses
around the country set up info booths and made phone calls to state
legislative offices as part of a national phone slam to encourage
representatives to sign on to H.R. 685, a bill to repeal the act.
Explore Spirit (explorespirit.org)
This is the new name of the organization that sponsors the Altered
States and the Spiritual Awakening conferences in San Francisco.
Their second conference was held in May 2004.
Lycaeum (lycaeum.org)
The Lycaeum website was down for nearly six weeks early in
2004, prompting some concern about the project. Their web forums
are still active though the rest of the site hasnt seen much activity.
TRIP Magazine (tripzine.com)
After 10 issues, Trip magazine is closing the doors on its print
publication. They printed only a limited number of their final issue,
which is already sold out. Tripzine.com continues to publish new
online-only content.
CCLE (cognitiveliberty.org)
The CCLE has kicked off two new projects recently. The first is
the newly launched Judging Prohibition, a database of published
legal opinions in which U.S. judges have spoken out against the
injustices caused by national drug prohibition policies. In addition,
the CCLE has begun a campaign against the actions of school
administrators intimidating parents into putting their kids on Ritalin
in order to attend school.
DanceSafe (dancesafe.org)
DanceSafe has a new executive director, Marc Brandl, formerly
of the Libertarian Party national office. They have also added a new
Atlanta-based chapter to their roster.
Flex Your Rights (flexyourrights.org)
Flex Your Rights works to teach individuals how to protect their
civil liberties during police encounters. In light of legislative efforts
and recent Supreme Court decisions that have expanded police power,
Flex Your Rights has developed instructional videos to demonstrate
how to effectively assert ones constitutional rights.

Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004 15

 An Experience with
Eternal Control Malfunction 3C-P, Alcohol, 2C-T-2
and Psilocybe cubensis
I hesitated to report this experience at first, as
it was a mistake caused by my lack of attention to
exactly what I had been doing all day. For me it was
both a very interesting and strong trip, approaching
what Ive read from many ayahuasca reports, as well
as a cautionary tale.
Last year, I had acquired a small amount of 3,5-
dimethoxy-4-propyloxyamphetamine (3C-P). This
chemical was not listed in PiHKAL, or any other
literature I could find for that matter. After discussing
it with a psychedelics forum I frequent, I decided to
do a run up on it starting at 200 g or so in order to
determine activity. I had made it up to an 8 mg dose
on the day this report took place. I took it up to 20
mg or so before running out of material and losing
At some point, I became aware
that whatever was happening to me, it was the chance to become one
with eternity, and become a god. [...] Of course, in order to do this I would
have to remove my clothes.
interest, at which level it was a +1. Others have since
continued workup of this material to higher levels,
but I will leave it to those individuals to post their
reports as they see fit.
10:00 AM Woke up and ingested 8 mg of 3C-P.
After about an hour I noticed a very slight stimulation
and very slight color enhancement, but nothing that
I would consider to be a +1 on the Shulgin scale. I
proceeded about on my daily tasks, mostly getting
ready for a musical festival that was to be held that
night.
4:00 PM The 3C-P had apparently either worn
off or the effects were so small in the first place that
I had completely become used to them to the point
where I had forgotten that I took it. This is what I
now refer to as Mistake #1. During the next couple
of hours I ingested a few beers and listened to the
music.
6:00 PM The 2C-T-2 I had brought with seemed
to be appropriate at this point. A crowd had gathered,
and I didnt want to drink myself silly. I took 15 mg
of 2C-T-2 which generally takes about 45 minutes to
an hour to make its effects known to me. This brings
us to Mistake #2.
6:30 PM A conversation I was having with
someone prompted them to ask me if I was planning
on partaking of any substances that night. I told
him about the 2C-T-2 I had taken. He had heard of it
16
by FlowGnome
before, and was very interested in trying it, so I told
him he could have some if he wanted. In return, he
gave me a very large mushroom, about 1 g. This was
a combination that I had done before, although with
about .25 g of mushrooms instead.
7:00 PM The mushroom and the 2C-T-2 begin
kicking in at the same time. This is when some
pathway in my brain decided to reconnect itself, and
remind me that I had also eaten 3C-P this morning.
I didnt think it would be much of a problem, as all
doses were fairly small. This was Mistake #3.
7:30 PM Visuals had already progressed to the
point where I couldnt see very much, if at all, in
low light. Had I known what was going to happen
next, I would have found some Xanax and a quiet
room to lock myself in as soon as possible. I had
just enough time to warn the people that I had come
with about what I had done. I informed them that I
was in no medical danger, but there was going to be
quite a bit of a chance of me losing it in weird and
interesting ways.
Time stops here.
At some point, I became aware that whatever
was happening to me, it was the chance to become
one with eternity, and become a god. In order to
do this, as would be revealed to me in increments,
I would first have to experience the eternal struggle
and balance of all opposites. Of course, in order to
do this I would have to remove my clothes. I have
added the story of what was really going on as pieced
together from the testimonials of many of the fifty or
so people that were there who have taken the time to
yell Hey, youre that naked guy when they see me
on campus, and relate events to me.
What I remember:
During a large period of the night, I relived the best
and worst moments of what seemed like every human
life dating back hundreds of years. Each moment
lasted only, well, a moment, but could be felt and seen
clearly. I would cycle between the greatest ecstasy
I have felt for just a split second, and suddenly the
worst pain or sadness. The intensity on each life was
different, relative to what event was experienced.
Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004
 In one life, I could be doing something
such as lying under a tree as a child, watching
the clouds, as the good moment. Next I
would be suddenly in a freezing trench in an
unknown war, horribly wounded and dying.
One moment a woman on her wedding night,
the next being raped by police officers.
Gender was no issue, and although many of
the worst moments included death, this was
certainly not the most common, or the worst,
as those with death involved would end in
what seemed like less time.
After going through all of this for what
seemed like a very long time, I came to
the conclusion that there was a required
moment of pain for every moment of ecstasy,
although, say, one moment of mild joy would
only require a mild sadness to cancel out. It
was not all exact opposites, although this was
all I was being shown. With this realization,
the next phase of the trip started.
I was able to see normal reality again,
and realized that I was naked, although not
that there was any sort of problem with this,
which there really wasnt: the only reason
anyone cared about me running around naked
was that it was getting really cold out, and I
was starting to look a bit pale.
A wonderful girl that I hadnt met before
decided that she would help me with this.
Nobody could get me to put the pants I
brought with back on, so she asked me what
I wanted to wear. Apparently I told her that I
needed a kilt and bullhorns, but I was brought
a skirt and my shirt & jacket instead. She
brought me in the house and made me get
dressed. I was taught a song to keep singing
when I forgot that I required clothes... Got
to keep your clothes on with a little tune. I
could still sing it right now if I wanted to,
even though I dont remember learning it.
In any case, I went outside singing this
loudly to the cheers of everyone, who had now
focused their attention on my antics almost
more than the music. At this point, the idea
somehow got into my head that these people
were the ones who would someday evolve into
gods, and I was gaining the opportunity to join
them (in reality it was a large mix of hippies,
ravers, and plain old drugheads). In order to
join the future godhood, I would be required to
absolutely perfect the song I was singing about
keeping my clothes on, as well as a dance to
go with it, a new artform, etc.is part is fairly
foggy and repetitive. At one point the band
was playing and just letting me sing.
At some point it became clear to me that
although I had all eternity to practice my
Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004
song, I would spend the same amount of time
I spent perfecting it in hell. Then, suddenly,
my visuals almost completely stopped. The
faces of the people there returned to normal,
and they became recognizable again. I
went and sat down, remembering only
what was posted above. I still think about
this trip, and although several meanings
and realizations are obvious from the
above, almost none have been in any way
applicable to normal life. It was too much
information in too little time, at least for
my brain.
The story according to others:
After warning them of my impending
insanity, my friends kept some sort of eye
on me for awhile. After I threw my clothes
off, one of them chased me down and tried
to get me to put them back on, which I did
for a few seconds. As soon as he walked
away they went back off again. Eventually
everyone realized that I wasnt intent on
harming myself or anyone else, and just
allowed me to run around naked until it got
cold. One of my friends gave me a hug at
some point, and my response to him was We
have achieved god consciousness. At some
3C-P Information
3C-P is mentioned briefly in PiHKAL as the
unexplored amphetamine homologue
of proscaline (#140, or P). Very little
is known about this substance and it
should not be considered safe for human
ingestion.
Data Confidence: Very tentative.
Chemical: 3,5-dimethoxy-4-propyloxyam-
phetamine
Type: Stimulant, possible psychedelic or
empathogen.
Prevalence: Exotic / Very Rare
Dosage: Very rough estimates. Threshold
5-10 mg; Medium 10-40 mg; Strong
40+ mg.
Duration: Probably long, 8 - 16 hours.
Safety: Unknown. Humans have survived
ingestion of up to 50 mg oral.
Availability: Through research chemical
market. Sold semi-publicly in late 2003
through at least one source.
Field Tests: Marquis reagent reacts orange
with the 3C-P sold in 2003.
point, I apparently got up on stage and yelled
I am god, and youre all going to die into the
microphone. Soon after I was crowd-surfing
naked. At one point, I ran into the cornfields,
probably to urinate. Afterwards, I sat down.
Someone came after me, and I was standing
there with them, completely naked, when the
cops showed up.
They must REALLY have not wanted
to deal with me, because they just shone
a flashlight on us and walked on. After
my clothes made it back on, things went
pretty much as above, although I was
apparently yelling some weird, random
things.
Without the help of about 20 good friends
looking after me, as well as friendly strangers,
I most likely would have been injured or
worse after this night. These experimental
psychedelics arent toys, and even with fairly
low doses of everything involved, I was
still in a state where I wasnt in control of
my actions anymore and things could have
gone downhill very fast. It was too intense
to get anything useful out of, and certainly
wasnt fun in any sense of the word.
Use caution.
C15 H NO
25 2
Experiences: We know of a dozen or
so reports of human 3C-P ingestion.
Various authors, unverified provenance:
8 mg: I want to call this a threshold;
16 mg: something like 5 mg of Adderall;
20 mg: overall, the experience was very
mild; 30 mg: +3 euphoric period lasting
3 hours-ish and then a +2 psychedelic am-
phetamine feeling for another 12+ hours...
unable to sleep (and kind of tired) is
pretty annoying; 30 mg: for me, 30 mg
was perfect... [but] I should reiterate that
the duration was annoying; 40 mg: an
average dose.
Literature Mentions:
Shulgin A, Shulgin A. PiHKAL: A Chemical Love
Story. Transform Press, 1991.
Trachsel D. Synthesis of novel (phenylalkyl)amines
for the investigation of structure-activity
relationships: part 1 mescaline derivatives,
Helvetica Chimica Acta. 2003; 85(9):3019-26.
17
Legal Updates
R E L AT E D T O P S Y C H O A C T I V E I S S U E S
TFMPP De-Scheduled
On March 18, 2004, TFMPPs emergency
placement into Schedule I was withdrawn by
the DEA. It had been placed under control
by emergency ruling, along with 2C-T-7 and
BZP, on September 20, 2002. Within 18
months following emergency scheduling, the
DEA, in conjunction with the FDA, is required
to provide scientific evidence to support a
substances permanent placement into Schedule
I. While this evidence was found for 2C-T-7
and BZP, it was not found for TFMPP.
... under recommendation of the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) and
a scientific evaluation of the National
Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the
DHHS did not recommend control of
TFMPP. Accordingly, TFMPP will
no longer be controlled under the
CSA after March 19, 2004.1
This makes TFMPP the first material ever
to have been emergency scheduled federally
and then removed from the CSA rather than
permanently scheduled.
2C-T-7 and BZP Update
Also on March 18, 2004, 18 months after
they were emergency scheduled, 2C-T-7 and
BZP were placed permanently into Schedule
I of the Controlled Substance Act. The DEA
and FDA agreed that there was enough
evidence to support this decision.
The Federal Register entry announcing
this move contains an interesting statement:
As these substances have no
legitimate medical use in the U.S., the
trafficking in, and use by individuals
for the psychoactive effects they
produce, is considered abuse.1
While this is a common assertion on the
part of the DEA and law enforcement, its not
often they specifically state that the definition
they are working from equates abuse with
use for psychoactive effects. Abuse of
a substance, as defined by the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM IV) requires a maladaptive pattern of
substance use manifested by recurrent and
18
significant adverse consequences related to
the repeated use of a substance.2
The Controlled Substance Act as passed
by Congress requires that Schedule I
substances must be found to have both no
medical use AND have a high potential for
abuse. The definition of abuse as stated in
the recent Federal Register entry effectively
collapses these two requirements into a
single criterion by equating any use of an
unapproved substance with abuse.
BZP in New Zealand
BZP is widely available and marketed
as a recreational stimulant in New Zealand.
New Zealands Expert Advisory Committee
on Drugs (EACD) recently looked at BZP and
submitted a report to the Ministry of Health.
In their report, they recommended that BZP
not be scheduled at this time due to there
being insufficient information on which to
base a recommendation to classify.3 Their
report mentioned several other interesting
points, including:
1) The U.S. DEA cited a single case report of a
death after BZP and MDMA ingestion as part
of its rationale for scheduling the substance.
Yet according to the EACD, no causal link was
established between BZP and the death.
2) BZP has the potential to be used as a harm-reduc-
tion measure for methamphetamine addicts.
3) BZP does not fit into any existing schedule and
the EACD recommended that the Ministry of
Health consider creating a new schedule which
would limit access by age without prohibiting the
substance completely.
Erowid.org/extracts/n6/bzp_nz.shtml
Cannabistrot.net
In July 2003, the administrator of the
French cannabis web portal Cannabistrot.net
was arrested after being named in a cannabis
cultivation case. These charges came as the
result of a 17-year-old allegedly testifying
that he ordered cannabis seeds from a British
website whose address he found while surfing
a site hosted by Cannabistrot. Under French
law, web hosts are responsible for the content
they host if they have been notified by a third
party and fail to remove the offensive content.
BY E ROWID
Cannabistrot claims they were never notified
of a problem with the site they hosted or the
links it contained.
Then in January 2004, members of the
organization Pot Head Pixies (PHP) which
runs Cannabistrot.net were charged with
provoking the use of cannabis through their
anti-prohibitionist views as demonstrated by
the sale of legal gardening supplies and books
about cannabis cultivation and use. A pre-
trial judiciary court orderwhich is being
appealedprohibits PHP representatives
from running any websites (including those
un-related to cannabis), selling gardening
supplies or books about the cultivation or use
of prohibited substances, or participating in
anti-prohibitionist activities. Prosecutors
will have to prove that Cannabistrot was
deliberately attempting to facilitate illegal
activity by French citizens.
This case is the latest in a series of
trials brought against shops, organizations,
and publishers active in the French drug
scene. In March, there was an appeal in
the trial of the president of Techno Plus, a
rave harm reduction group. Techno Plus,
which produces brochures, provides health
information, and advises policy has been
publicly funded for eight years. Its president
was brought to trial by the state prosecutor
because of two fliers, one explaining how
to insufflate properly to avoid disease and
another explaining the relative safety of
various drug combinations. A mistrial was
called due to a technical error on the states
side, and the state appealed so a second trial
will be held. This situation is politically
interesting because Techno Plus was publicly
funded, operating with the tacit agreement of
the French Ministry of Health.
Oaksterdam
In February, the city council of Oakland,
CA voted to impose restrictions on the
medical cannabis clubs operating in the
city. The new ordinance, which takes effect
June 1, 2004 limits the city to four licensed,
non-profit medical cannabis providers. The
City will review these imposed limits for
medical cannabis providers in December
Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004
at which time it may allow more permits to
be issued. The clubs will be restricted in
where they can be located (more than 1,000
feet from schools, libraries, youth centers,
etc.). The City Manager retains the power to
allow use within these areas if no complaints
are found.4
The City of Oakland also banned cannabis
smoking, consumption and ingestion on-site
within facilities complying with state law.
An ad hoc committee will be set up to
investigate this issue, with a report due in the
summer of 2004. This report will propose
allowing consumption and ingestion of
medical cannabis in non-smoked forms like
vaporizing and eating baked goods.
Four medical cannabis providers will be
chosen from a review of applications that
have already been turned in. This process
is underway with providers to be licensed.
Inspections of their properties will also be
made by all related City agencies to ensure
safe operations before the four are finally
issued permits to meet the June 1, 2004
deadline for this permit process.
Leonard Pickard Sentencing
After being found guilty in March 2003 of
conspiracy and possession of LSD with intent
to distribute more than 10 grams, Leonard
Pickard was sentenced in November 2003
to two consecutive life sentences without
parole. He is appealing the verdict to a
higher court.5
In related news, Gordon Todd Skinner, the
primary witness against Pickard during his
trial, was arrested with his wife on charges of
kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, torture of a
teenager, assault and battery with a dangerous
weapon, and drug trafficking. In an unrelated
case, he was also arrested on drug trafficking
charges for distributing MDMA at Burning
Man.6
Books for the Erowid Library
O ver the last nine years, Erowid
has developed a physical collection of
books, periodicals and papers relating to
psychoactive plants and chemicals. These
reference materials are invaluable as we
write, publish, and verify facts for the site.
As we try to envision what the next
stage of Erowid growth looks like, we
imagine a centralized space with not
only computers, scanners, and desks,
but also a sizeable library of reference
materials.
Our vision for the future Erowid
Library & Headquarters varies, but its
clear we need a more collaboration-
friendly environment if we are to sustain
the project over the long term. We intend
to keep the work highly distributed among
remote crew and volunteers, but we are
often hampered by not having a good
space where we can work with others and
provide them access to our resources.
One of our dream designs is a small
physical Erowid Library: semi-public, on
rural or semi-rural land, within two hours
of San Francisco. It would have enough
space and equipment for 4-8 people to
work comfortably and shelves to house
the books and reference materials. We
realize even this fairly modest concept is
a long way off, but its good to dream!
New Books
1 Pagliaros Comprehensive Guide to Drugs and Substances of Abuse,
by Louis & Ann Marie Pagliaro
A clinical compilation of current available data about the status, trends,
and pharmacology of the most common recreationally used drugs in North
America, written with health care providers in mind. (APhA Publications)
With the help of contributors, we
are working to fill in our physical library.
We are asking people to donate books
that we dont already have on the
topics of psychoactives, brain science,
psychedelic culture, consciousness, and
mysticism.
The library/bookstore on Erowid
(erowid.org/books) gives a list of the
books already in our collection. If you
have an extra or unused copy of a book
you think might fit into the library or would
like to contribute in some other way, we
can use your help.
A secondary function of a future
Erowid Library could be to help preserve
and make available other private
collections of books and papers about
psychoactives in a secure and semi-
permanent setting. A service we could
offer would be to catalog and house
private collections that no longer have a
home but whose owners dont want them
sold off piecemeal before important or
unique works are identified.
As we sketch out the goals of the
Erowid Project for the next few years, we
are including a look at the feasibility of an
Erowid office and library and look forward
to ideas and feedback from members
and advisors.

References
1. Federal Register Vol 69. Mar 18, 2004.
2. Editors. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
2 Rave Culture and Religion,
by Graham St. John (editor)
(IV). American Psychiatric Assoc. 1994. An academic collection of 16 essays by contemporary religion scholars,
3. EACD Advice to the Minister: BZP. Apr 2004. dance ethnologists, and sociologists, exploring the socio-cultural and
Erowid.org/extracts/n6/bzp.shtml religious dimensions of raves. (Routledge)
4. Zamora JH. New Limits in Oakland for
Medical Pot Clubs. San Francisco Chronicle.
Feb 5 2004. 3 LSD,
by Otto Snow
5. The William Leonard Pickard Website.
Extensive coverage of LSD manufacture and forensics, including chemistry,
freepickard.org
precursors, and carriers both common and rare (like gelatin lamels). Includes
6. OMalley J. Feds accuse man of handing out photos, chemical nomenclatures and bibliography. (Thoth Press)
ecstasy at festival. Reno Gazette Journal.
Jan 9 2004.

Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004 19

 M EME C ULTIVATION
Hey, Its A Library
Responses to some Common Criticisms
T
here are a number of common mis-
conceptions about Erowid that both
individuals and the mainstream
media rely on when attempting to
dismiss or discredit it. One of the ongoing
challenges of the project is to help visitors
contextualize the information they find and
read it with appropriate perspective. We
hope that by sharing some of our responses
to common complaints we can help visitors
better understand our editorial choices and
help those who support our mission respond
to others when discussing these complex
issues.
First and foremost, Erowid is an eclectic
library of documents. It contains everything
from fanciful writing to the latest scientific
research, from psychedelic art to police
photos, from extensively edited and carefully
reviewed articles to error-riddled, poorly
written exhortations. The site serves as an
archive of historical documents, a publisher
of new information, and a hub to collect
cutting-edge data.
Its an error to expect all the types of
information to fit into just one of these
categoriesto see the site as a book rather
than as a library. This leads to some of the
following criticisms.
Erowid is Pro-drug
Perhaps the most common reason given
for dismissing the information found in
our collection is the idea that Erowid
promotes the use of psychoactive drugs.
Most often this seems to be a short-
hand way of saying that we arent like
mainstream prohibitionist publishers; we
do not exclusively publish warnings and
negatively-framed information. Somewhat
more novel terminology was used in a
New England Journal of Medicine article
mentioning Erowid, where we were grouped
in the set of partisan websites, as opposed
to the (apparently non-partisan) websites of
groups like the Partnership for a Drug-Free
America and the expressly political Office
of National Drug Control Strategy.1
20
The fact is that Erowid includes a far
wider breadth of information and links than
any of the prohibition sites. We go out of our
way to collect and publish positive, neutral,
and negative information. We show negative
experience reports, write about dangerous in-
teractions and behaviors, document and link
to stories about psychoactive-related deaths
and hospitalizations, and discuss research
detailing the health risks of psychoactives.
We link to hundreds of prohibition-oriented
sites, despite knowing that these links will
increase their search rankings and will
never be reciprocated. We respond to angry
criticism with polite requests for specific
corrections and suggested changes. In fact,
Erowid has been criticized for being too
willing to publish negative informationby
people who strongly believe in the beneficial
use of illegal psychoactives.
While we try to discourage irrespon-
sible behavior, our primary role is that of
a library. Its not the place of the reference
encyclopedia or the medical library to
make the types of filtering decisions that
might be made when producing a drug
education book designed to be read by
children; Erowid is designed for adults
and is used for many different purposes.
Not discouraging use is very different than
encouraging use.
Mixed Messages
A similar criticism we receive is that
the site doesnt provide clear, explicit
guidance to readers about what they should
or shouldnt do. As stated in a 2002 article
about recreational drug web sites published
in the journal Pediatrics, Mixed messages
about other drug use permeate the Erowid
drug site.2
Those who bring up this criticism
seem to hold strongly to the view that
information about psychoactives should
consist solely of scare stories, negative
health claims, moral warnings and lectures
to stay away from a poorly defined set of
bad drugs.
by Earth Erowid
There is a huge disparity between how
different people view the basic facts about
psychoactives. One of the goals of the Erowid
project is to collect and give voice to a range
of well-considered opinions. Aside from our
intent to help document diversity, its clear
that libraries and large collections should
necessarily contain mixed messages;
indeed, it is integral to their purpose.
As we wrote in our response to the
Pediatrics article, Should a library have a
single message? Not a library that most of
us would like to use [...] It is our position that
an information source with a single message
will be seen as untrustworthy and biased by
many readers: including those who choose to
use psychoactives and those who choose to
conduct research on them.
Erowid is Run by Druggies
Major media outlets are usually a little too
polite to call us stoners or druggies, but
this doesnt stop smaller news organizations,
individuals and the Usenet crazies.
Sometimes, the charge seems to serve
as a disclaimer to protect the author from
sounding too positive when they go on to
make statements about Erowids usefulness
or interest. In a story published in the Salt
Lake City Weekly on Jan 8, 2004, the author
writes: Its a site for stoners by stoners,
people who like to get good and baked,
and legitimize their dragon-chasing by
proclaiming a Timothy Learyesque pursuit
of self-discovery. (Not to malign them. Im
all for people getting ripped if theyre truly
not hurting anybody. But lets call a stoner a
stoner.)3 The overall tone of the rest of the
Erowid mention is positive, but the stoner
tag seems to frame the site as the probably-
accidental output from lazy people who only
stopped dragon-chasing long enough to
upload their latest rant.
In other contexts, the terms are used solely
as insults intended to discredit the content of
the site. Were bound to get pinned with the
drug user stereotype simply because of the
Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004

role we play. Erowid gives voice to current
and past psychoactive users of all types: some
who are self-proclaimed stoners and others
who are the exact opposite. But the druggie
insult is easy to throw, can quickly serve to
discredit all work associated with the site,
and is bound to get a laugh.
The most damning implication of the
druggie criticism is that all of the information
included on the site is suspect because those
in charge would only post information
that justifies their own (clearly depraved)
use. This is sometimes accompanied by
the suggestion that any errors found are the
result of the site operators being too high
to do anything properly. These are cases
of using ad hominem attacks to discredit
us personally rather than trying to make
substantive arguments about the site that can
stand on their own merit.
Each reader evaluates Erowid based on
their own beliefs and values. While we want
to maintain both a presentation style and
overall site feel that can at least be tolerated
by mainstream visitors, it is more important
to us that we maintain credibility among those
who need the information most. We realize
this will inevitably lead to accusations that
the site is run by stoners and we continue
to consider the impact of our content and
aesthetics choices.
Erowid is an enormous project that
has grown out of the work of dozens of
individuals. It involves a lot of complicated,
stressful, technically demanding work, and
very long hours. This has been underway for
over nine years. The collection includes tens
of thousands of documents and images and
has provided source material for thousands
of books, magazines, and lectures around the
world. It is difficult to imagine this is what
detractors have in mind as the product of a
typical druggie.
Erowid Contains Errors
Another complaint resulting from
a misunderstanding of the nature of
the collection is that there is incorrect
information on Erowid. With surprising
frequency, we receive questions like
Hello, Im writing a report for school
and I want to know if everything on your
site is true?
There are many errors on the site and it
would hardly take an expert a few minutes
to point out a dozen inaccuracies or mis-
statements. As with any archive of eclectic
documents, there are many authors with
Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004
many different levels of expertise, out-of-date
documents, and documents that contain
typos or transcription errors. While a
portion of the documents we archive are
actively maintained as up-to-date repre-
sentations of our current understanding
of the topic in question, a majority of
documents have been archived in their
original format and will never see further
edits or corrections. This is the style of
journals and magazines everywhere, which
publish articles that, a year or two later
as knowledge advances, will be found to
contain errors.
Imagine a librarian going through all
the books and journals in their collection
and blacking out the parts they think are
incorrect. Now imagine them adding new
sentences or paragraphs to the words of the
original authors with no practical way to tell
what has been changed. Imagine if the works
of Aristotle had been corrected over time
by well-meaning librarians bent on making
sure that Aristotle was up-to-date with the
current state of knowledge. It is not hard
to see how damaging this would be to the
historical record.
It is part of our stated mission to improve
the availability of past data and this neces-
sitates including information that may be
proven incorrect later. Data of all kinds
become incorrect that were correct when they
were written (statistics, government laws and
policies, social facts, etc.) and things believed
to be correct are later discovered to be
false. The nature of scientific advancement
perpetually invalidates past interpretations
and highlights problems with past data
collection methods.
If Does it contain errors? were a litmus
test for a good library, no library would pass.
We make minor corrections and adjustments
to a few documents each day based on reader
feedback. But it will never be the case (nor
our intention) that everything archived on
Erowid is true.
Missing Information
The two sides of this are that some people
complain that Erowid is missing extremely
important information while others say
that Erowid is the one stop for all their
psychoactive drug information needs.
There are many articles, systems, facts,
and resources that we know would add
a great deal to the Erowid library. We
sometimes use the metaphor that our job is
like standing under a waterfall of data, trying
How to Read Erowid.org
1) Check Authorship. The articles pub-
lished on Erowid are written by literally
thousands of authors. When evaluating
an article, readers need to ask: Who
wrote this article? What are their
qualifications? Have they written other
articles?
2) Check Publication Date and Edition. A
documents age and how recently it has
been edited are essential keys to know-
ing how to contextualize an article. Is
the document marked clearly as to when
it was written and last edited? Is there
more recent data that could refute this
article? Is it talking about laws or news
that are likely to have changed?
3) Know the Document Type. Different
types of documents have different levels
of review, editing, and expectations for
publication. What someone says in an
Experience Report should be taken dif-
ferently than something someone says
in a research review article.
4) Look for References. Does the article
give links or references for the facts
it states? Does it make it clear how it
reached its conclusions? For facts you
care about, does the author provide
enough information to actually track
down the original material?
to sort and capture the most interesting or
important bits as they fall by in the torrent.
Not only is Erowid clearly missing a great
deal of important information, but we also
believe that fundamentally no single library
should ever be considered the sole source of
information on any topic.
Erowid doesnt contain everything one
needs to know about psychoactives, nor does
any other resource. Its important to look
for multiple authors and multiple editorial
perspectives when researching any topic or
fact. Hopefully, what Erowid helps provide is
a useful overview, access to a wide variety of
viewpoints, and pointers to additional books,
websites, and references where visitors can
read more.
References
1. Boyer EW, Shannon M, et al. Web Sites with
Misinformation about Illicit Drugs. N Engl J
Med. 345:469-71.
2. Wax PM. Just a click away: Recreational
drug web sites on the internet. Pediatrics.
Jun 2002; 109(6):e96.
3. Harward R. Syrup Shooters. Salt Lake City
Weekly. Jan 2004.
21
 ESCOTTOLOGY
And So, A Scandal Grows
By Scott O. Moore
As many longtime viewers of this program are no doubt aware,
I have watched the growing steroid scandal in professional sports
with a rage that borders on apoplectic. Indeed, how can we live
with the notion that each and every one of Barry Bonds four billion
home runs last year was possibly aided by a performance enhancing
substance? And what about runner Regina Jacobs, who may be
prevented from running in the Summer Olympics this year because
she, too, is suspected of using a performance enhancing substance
that helped her to win 24 national titles, including 23 races where she
broke the sound barrier on foot? That sound barrier stood for years,
Im telling you, before some hot shot runner comes along all hopped
up on goofballs and suddenly breaks the damn thing and where were
her morals, I ask you? Apparently U.S. shot putter C.J. Hunter had
1,000 times the allowable amount of the steroid nandrolone in his
system when he shot those puts in the 2000 Sydney Olympicslook,
when I take 1,000 times the allowable amount of any substance,
they call in the frickin National Guard, but this guy just got to keep
putting shots?
Its an outrage, but sad as it may be, this scandal has spread from
the august realm of professional sports into the formerly dignified
world of arts and culture. The implications reach into the highest
echelons of music, dance, theatre, film and literature. Apparently,
artists of all stripes have been using performance enhancing
substances for years nowand the world is only now catching on!
I have absolutely no comment whatsoever, said Sir Paul
McCartney, when confronted with direct evidence that many, if
not most, of the Beatles best compositions were created under
the influence of performance enhancing substances. But interna-
tional authorities are reportedly outraged, and are considering serious
measures, including revoking the long-held gold medal for Concept
Album from the bands seminal Sgt. Pepper album. This would indeed
be a tragedy, for after realizing how many concept albums throughout
history are tainted by performance enhancing substances, the medal
may unfortunately fall to Mannheim Steamroller.
Meanwhile, officials for the upcoming Techno Olympics in
Detroit, Michigan, are reportedly overwhelmed by the sudden wave of
bands and DJs testing positive for performance enhancing substances.
Members of the Crystal Method and the Chemical Brothers are
denying all evidence as purely circumstantial, but as one official said,
Look, we all wanted to believe the lie, that music so good and so
real and so right could just pour out of these artists, but now it seems
clearwithout performance enhancing substances, theyd all have
joined Barry Manilow cover bands or something. The entire back
catalog of the Orb has been stripped of its gold medals in the This
Shit Is Fucking Weird events from previous Techno Olympics. Upon
hearing the news, Dr. Alex Paterson called a hasty press conference at
which he came clean, saying, I admit, I was under the influence of
over 1,000 times the allowable amount of a performance enhancing
substance when I named that song A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating
Brain That Rules From The Center Of The Ultraworld, Loving You.
But in my defense, that huge pulsating brain does love you, whether
you admit it or not.
22
Rigorous new testing methods are being proposed by the
International Artistic Regulatory Commission. Unfortunately the
standard battery of tests wont work, since the effects of many of these
performance enhancing substances remain in the artists systems for
literally years after the body has purged all physical traces of them.
Instead, highly sophisticated algorithms have been developed to
analyze the actual produced work itself for traces: realistic depictions
of altered states in literature or film are clear signs, as are unnaturally
abstract expressions in dance or painting, or a particularly phat
beat that could not possibly have been conceived simply by sitting
sober at a Pro Tools console. Perhaps the most pernicious cases,
said one laboratory technician, are those in which the performance
enhancing substances produce actual honest insight about the human
condition, or spirituality, or aspects of culture. Those will be the
hardest to detect and root outbut safety demands it.
In the meantime, the
world of art and culture
In the meantime, the world of
has been shaken to its very
foundation. How can art and culture has been shaken
anyone look at a Picasso the to its very foundation.
same way? mused one art
expert. I mean, its so clear
nowthat lunatic had to be high on something. Even mainstream
conservative America has been forced to admit that its long and
strange enthusiasm for the works of Aerosmith is now forever tainted.
Only a deluded few cling to the notion that performance enhancing
substances are an asset to the creation of art; said one San Francisco
DJ, I dont care if I never compete again. They can throw up all the
boundaries they wantIll just keep dissolving them, alone if I have
to. A dangerous thought from an artist who is clearly throwing his life
away. We have an enormous amount of work to do to keep budding
young talent from following in his booty-shaking footsteps.
Some tentative first steps have already been taken. The United
Nations has formed a new commission, the Multinational Task Force
on Keeping Art Safe & Boring. Already, dozens of homogenous boy
bands are springing up in such far away places as Liechtenstein and
Madagascar, giving hope to all that someday we might feel secure in
the knowledge that our arts and culture are produced with integrity,
with sincerity, and with no artificially enhanced creativity whatsoever,
just the way God and the corporate world intended.
In the meantime, I can only urge caution. If you find your children
suddenly displaying an unusual interest in hipster jazz, Terry Gilliam
movies, orGod forbidPhish albums, isolate them immediately.
You may never know for sure if performance enhancing substances
were involved, but why take the risk with impressionable young
minds? Especially now that John Tesh has his own syndicated radio
show. Kids need to learn once and for all that the only thing this
culture will tolerate is performance detracting substances, like alcohol
and most of the food we produce. The joy of mediocrity is something
they will only learn from you.
Erowid.org/columns/scotto
Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004
 THE DISTILLATION
Aside from the daily maintenance and upkeep of the site, we
are always working on a variety of projects. Many of these involve E CSTASY D ATA S TATISTICS
updating existing sections of the site as a part of the overall Erowid
Daily Visitors Daily Page Hits

2004
3.0 upgrade. Below are notes about some of these projects. 1,813 13,610
Daily File Hits 257,306 Tablets Tested 34
Sperowider.org
We get frequent requests from visitors for a downloadable version Tablets Tested Testing Results (1999-2003)
of Erowid.org by those who have slow or intermittent net connections. 2003 148 Total Tablets Tested 1250
Every day a few people try to run spidering software on the site, hitting 2002 301 MDMA Only (42%) 516
tens of thousands of pages each. Unfortunately, its not uncommon 2001 332 MDMA + Something (13%) 168
for these types of spiders and bots to run out of control, occasionally 2000 333 No MDMA (45%) 559
entering infinite loops, causing hundreds of thousands of page hits 1999 69 - Nothing Detected 90
and slowing down access for everyone else.
After more than a year of development, we have finally completed EcstasyData.org
version 1.0 of the new Erowid spidering tool called Sperowider. New support has been found for the EcstasyData project. Testing
Sperowider is a tool that spiders, archives, and then creates a had ceased in October 2003 due to lack of funding. After seeing
searchable index for a website. While the tool can be used to archive the request for help on project co-sponsor DanceSafes website,
any site, its primary purpose is to make downloadable backups of a contributor stepped forward to cover a significant portion of the
Erowid.org (or a sub-sections of the site) for offline viewing and EcstasyData budget for 2004. In order to keep costs at a manageable
writing to CD. In the near future we will be creating regular archives level, we will continue to require a $20 co-pay. To prevent future
of the site and making them available for download. interruption of testing services, we continue to seek sources of funding
of $1,000 or more. Please e-mail serious inquiries and suggestions
Culture & Art Vaults to donations@erowid.org.
The Culture Vaults have now been transitioned to the new
Erowid 3.0 front-end, with the exception of the Art Vaults. The Art Volunteers
Vaults have gone through their own reorganization and the addition A new triage system has been implemented as part of the
of better navigation tools. Many new artists are submitting work experience report reviewing process. The new system allows
and the quality of submissions is up following the addition of new submitted reports to be checked and sorted by more people before
submission guidelines. The next project in this area is to merge the they are approved for public viewing, which should help us find and
newly organized Art Vault style into the Erowid 3.0 template. publish good reports more quickly. The triage system will also allow
us to involve more people in the process and get volunteers started
Fundraising more quickly. If you are interested in helping with the triage process,
Our goal of reaching 1,000 current members by May 31, 2004 is please contact volunteers@erowid.org.
making progress, but is a little behind schedule (864 as of May 11).

Testimonials E ROWID S ITE S TATISTICS

A new project were working on is to collect supportive blurbs
CURRENT

about the Erowid project (similar to what are found on the backs Content Pages 24,490 Daily Visitors 32,001
of books) by people willing to sign their full name and credentials. Archived Images 5,093 Daily Page Hits 420,568
Having these would make it much easier for us to approach Current Members 864 Daily File Hits 1,785,564
foundations, grants, and large funders. Email sage@erowid.org if
you are interested in providing a short testimonial. Avg Daily Avg Daily Avg Daily
File Hits Page Hits Visitors
Apr 2004 1,870,661 442,399 32,865
Media
BY MONTH

Mar 2004 1,920,182 445,330 33,956

A feature article about Erowid appeared in the April 30May 6
Feb 2004 1,886,510 443,835 32,382
LA Weekly. The article was written by Erik Davis and titled Dont
Get High Without It: The Vaults of Erowid supplies the ultimate trip Jan 2004 1,706,013 393,323 29,044

buddy: information. It included quotes about Erowid from a medical Dec 2003 1,477,360 348,037 25,866
student working in an emergency room, several researchers, and a Nov 2003 1,543,758 373,675 28,002
teen drug counselor. Oct 2003 1,569,789 381,151 28,449

2004 1,845,841 431,221 32,061

Erowid was also the subject of a very positive full-page editorial
2003 1,421,815 349,530 25,997
in Seattles weekly alternative newspaper, The Stranger: Drug
BY YEAR

Information Wants to be Free, by Hagbard Celine. These two articles 2002 1,206,855 283,541 23,042

have been very helpful in raising awareness of our funding issues and 2001 798,400 207,427 17,300
have precipitated a lot of very positive feedback about the site. 2000 462,000 126,000 12,000
1999 135,800 37,000 4,100

Erowid Extracts No. 6 / June 2004 23

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Stillness is love, movement is life. Conversations without tea are like a Art is not a mirror held up to
To be still and still movingthis is night sky without the moon. reality but a hammer with which to
everything. Pelin Aylangan, Turkish tea authority, shape it.
Lao Tzu (c. 600 B.C.E.) in National Geographic, Dec 2003. Bertolt Brecht (18981956)

There are no differences but
differences of degree between
different degrees of differences
and no difference.
William James (18421910),
under the influence of nitrous oxide.
There is no need to teach that
stars can fall out of the sky and
land on a flat earth to defend our
religious faith.
Jimmy Carter (b. 1924), responding
to Georgias Dept. of Education
considering banning the word
evolution from public school text
books, 2004.
A little learning is a dangerous
thing. Drink deep, or taste not
the Pierian spring: There shallow
draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us
again.
Alexander Pope (1688-1744), in
An Essay on Criticism.
What is a weed? A plant whose
virtues have not yet been
discovered.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Parents can only give good advice
or put them [children] on the right
paths, but the final forming of a
persons character lies in their own
hands.
Anne Frank (19291945), in Anne
Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
(1952) entry for July 15, 1944.
Most of todays books have an
air of having been written in one
day from books read the night
before.
Sbastian-Roch Nicolas de
Chamfort (1741-1794)
There is an almost sensual longing
for communion with others who have a
larger vision. The immense fulfillment
of the friendships between those
engaged in furthering the evolution of
consciousness has a quality almost
impossible to describe.
Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955)
La vrit est le
contraire du poison,
elle nest dangereuse
qu petites doses.
[truth is the opposite of poison; it
is only dangerous in small doses]
Jos Artur, French journalist
Cautious, careful people, always
casting about to preserve their
reputation and social standing, never
can bring about a reform. Those who
are really in earnest must be willing to
be anything or nothing in the worlds
estimation.
Susan B. Anthony (18201906),
on the campaign for divorce law
reform, 1860.
The Ecstasy fiasco is a reminder to
be wary of people in white coats who
bring startling news.
Don Sellar, in Annals of science:
bad trip on E, Toronto Star,
Dec 7, 2003.
Magic has the power to experience
and fathom things which are
inaccessible to human reason. For
Magic is a great secret wisdom,
just as reason is a great public
folly.
Paracelsus (14931541)
Intelligence is the ultimate
aphrodisiac.
Timothy Leary (19201996)
It is the hour to be drunken! Lest
you be the martyred slaves of Time,
intoxicate yourselves, be drunken
without cease! With wine, with poetry,
with virtue, or with what you will.
Baudelaire (18211867)
There is more to life than
increasing its speed.
Mahatma Ghandi (18691948)
One mans high is another mans
side effect.
M e e p u s , a l t . d r u g s . m e t h ,
Dec 11, 2003.
I could not live without Champagne.
In victory I deserve it, in defeat I
need it.
Winston Churchill (18741965),
reflecting Napoleon, to whom this
quote was first attributed.
If it takes a bloodbath, lets
get it over with. No more
appeasement.
Gov. Ronald Reagan (b. 1911),
commenting on student protests
of the Vietnam War, Apr 7, 1970.
Fill what is empty, empty what is
full and scratch where it itches.
Alice Roosevelt (1884-1980)